Chapter 954: Perfecting the System, Elven Provocation

After lunch, Xia Duo sent Niya back to the Tower of Time, while he himself concealed his form and wandered around the territory.

As time inched closer to the end of the year, the temperature in Nan Jing grew colder and colder, and the territory residents were clearly not as energetic as they had been during the spring and summer.

However, compared to the residents of Savile Territory who were already content with wintering, the residents of Daxia Territory were still much more diligent; not to mention the Development Department, which encompassed the majority of the residents, they were still leveling the frozen land today in preparation for next year's sowing.

The people in the Logistics Department did not need to go out, but the territory's chores could not leave them for even a moment: firing bricks, making clothes, building wooden houses, preparing food, and even if some child was playing and went missing, they were the ones who had to go find them.

However, the territory's population was now nearly ten thousand, and it was no longer as easy to manage as it had been in the past when there were only dozens or hundreds of people. Although Xia Duo possessed much knowledge from Earth, it was very difficult for the territory's management personnel to grasp it all at once.

Today, having rarely taken the initiative to inspect the public sentiment within the territory, he saw more than one able-bodied man idling about, even going so far as to harass the female staff of the Logistics Department.

Naturally, there was no need for him to step in personally for such matters; after returning to the Lord's Villa, Xia Duo called Laidun over directly.

"My Lord, the legal code is not yet complete. Does my Lord wish to review it now?"

"I didn't call you here for the legal code. I ask you, has the registration of all territory residents been completed?"

"My Lord?"

Laidun did not understand why the Lord brought this up; hadn't this been completed long ago? Moreover, a copy of the resident registry was right on the bookshelf in the Lord's Study.

"Then why are there still idlers in the territory?" Xia Duo asked.

Currently, Daxia Territory was still a Pioneer Territory, and all residents were under unified management; theoretically, there should not exist even a single idler outside the establishment.

Of course, Xia Duo did not intend to continue using this corporate-style management method forever. Once land was granted, only public officials would be considered part of the establishment, and the territory would be managed primarily by relying on decrees (macro-control) rather than directly commanding every single individual.

But for now, the territory's development was not yet finished, so it was still necessary to concentrate the greatest strength and utilize every usable resident, without wasting a single bit of human resources.

Hearing Xia Duo's questioning, Laidun immediately knelt on one knee and said cautiously, "My Lord, I need to understand more of the situation before I can answer."

"Very well, I authorize you to select a Supervision Group to specifically handle this matter. After this is done, this Supervision Group shall continue to be maintained!"

"Yes!" Laidun lowered his head deeply, having likely guessed the Lord's intention.

After Laidun left, Xia Duo sat quietly in the Study for a while longer, pondering silently.

Territory construction could not be accomplished in one stroke; the issue of supervision was something he had long wanted to bring up, and discovering the idlers outside the establishment this time was merely an excuse.

If one wants to be a hands-off manager, one must naturally perfect the territory's management system as much as possible, especially since there would be more and more Spellcasters in the territory in the future. As the saying goes, "When one carries a sharp blade, the intent to kill arises." If he were away for a long time, it was not impossible that someone might harbor crooked thoughts.

A mature and perfect system could avoid most internal troubles.

However, in a world of Magic, the disparity in individual power was so great that the experience from Earth might not be perfectly transplantable. What the future would hold was something Xia Duo would need to slowly reconcile based on the actual situation.

But regardless, he generally still believed in the power of order, law, and the human heart. Although these forces could not be seen or touched, they could tangibly influence every single person.

And in the world of Magic, these forces might not necessarily be invisible or untouchable!

Laidun had always said that "Power is born from order" and used this as a guiding principle for his actions. Xia Duo could not yet see this so-called "Order Force," but he could not completely deny its existence either.

Perhaps Radiant Holy Power was a type of Order Force.

Xia Duo was thoughtful, then took out paper and pen, wrote a few sentences on the paper, and had someone send it to Laidun.

Soon, time arrived at the first month of Netherese Calendar 837, and the New Year Festival would take place on the tenth day of the first month.

After spending the last few days of leisure in the Tower of Time, Xia Duo and Niya stepped onto the Teleportation Array heading to Seventon together to meet their unknown fate.

Giles Tower.

As soon as Xia Duo and Niya walked out of the Teleportation Room, they heard bursts of noise coming from the corridor outside, which seemed particularly jarring in the usually quiet Mage Tower.

Xia Duo subconsciously slowed his pace and pulled Niya, "Wait, let's listen to what they are saying first!"

Niya's status was extraordinary; if she appeared, those people might not continue their discussion. Even for Xia Duo himself, from the changes in his own Cloud Qi he had observed during this time, he had roughly guessed the changes here in Seventon.

However, even receiving a use of the Teleportation Array caused quite a stir. When the people outside saw that no one had yet emerged from the Teleportation Room, they soon realized something, hurriedly left behind a few words about talking later, and then left one by one.

Fortunately, what they were discussing was not some unspeakable secret, otherwise they would not have been communicating outside the Teleportation Room.

As for Xia Duo, he had been listening intently, but it suddenly came to an end, which really felt quite unpleasant. Looking at Niya's hesitant expression, Xia Duo said helplessly:

"Don't worry, I won't go to that so-called exchange meeting, but the higher-ups might not think so. When the time comes, I might be forced to go."

The people outside the Teleportation Room just now were discussing the provocation by the Mages of Cormanthor. Of course, this was the private version; on the surface, it was being conducted in the form of an exchange meeting.

According to those people, several High Mages of the Seven Towers had already been unable to endure the provocation of the Elves these past few days and had rashly agreed to Spell Duels at the exchange meeting.

Such Spell Duels at exchange meetings naturally consisted more of performance and demonstration, but even the best can make mistakes, and Elven Mages could also have "out-of-control" spells.

Although it might not cost them their lives, it was inevitable that they would end up looking disheveled and losing face for the Seven Towers.

Xia Duo knew this well, but he also knew that sometimes face could be more important than life, especially in the eyes of those in power.

Although those people just now only spoke of the situation on the Seven Towers' side and did not mention the situation on the Elves' side, from their tone, Xia Duo could also tell that the situation seemed somewhat dire.

And even more dire was his own situation; he was now a model held up by the Seven Towers. If the higher-ups really wanted him to step forward, he would have no way to refuse.

Perhaps that was exactly what the higher-ups were thinking?

But then Xia Duo dismissed this thought. An Arcanist was not someone who could be discarded at will, let alone someone like him who possessed such great potential and could almost be cultivated as an Arcanist Seed for a Great Arcanist.

Thinking too much now would be of no help; perhaps he could probe a little when he met Archmage Greta later.