Chapter 483: The First Knight Order is Formed

Following the conclusion of Luoning's grand wedding, Wubei Territory, Yueguang Valley, Jiliu Island, and Zilei Territory all became busy.

Projects such as the construction of Wubei Port, the reclamation of farmland, spring plowing, as well as the mining, smelting, and transportation of mineral resources were all proceeding in an orderly manner.

Almost every subject in his territory capable of contributing labor was busy without pause.

Although it was hard work, most people were happy to be busy.

At the very least, compared to three years ago, as long as they were diligent now, they basically would not go hungry, and some commoners could even indulge themselves by eating the white bread they had dreamed of.

Since there was something to look forward to in life, their enthusiasm could be mobilized.

Especially after Luoning introduced and strictly implemented a series of incentive policies regarding land and childbirth, everyone's enthusiasm for having children became extremely high.

After all, having more children meant receiving more grain and being able to build an extra house of about twenty square meters; how could their enthusiasm not be high?

Therefore, according to the estimate of the population official Oumai, the territory's population would see a significant increase this year.

It was also just right that the two new crops, Potato and rice, could be widely sown, and the grain produced would be enough to cope with the explosive growth of the population.

Compared to the busyness of the subjects, Luoning was instead more at leisure.

During this period, he mainly took Blanche around the various territories to let her understand the industrial structure of the territory and, at the same time, familiarize her with the main persons in charge of each place.

Come to think of it, Blanche was a Princess after all; logically, there should have been a group of guard Knights following her.

But perhaps Bruno felt that Luoning was already strong enough and did not need to be equipped with guard Knights, so he only sent a few maids to serve her personally.

Fortunately, Mixi was training Griffins for the Knights in Wubei Territory, so Blanche could be considered to have an acquaintance.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of May.

Ever since Luoning and Blanche's honeymoon ended, the two of them had spent most of their time living here.

On one hand, it was because everything here was waiting to be rebuilt, and on the other hand, it was out of Blanche's request.

She wanted to help Luoning govern the territory, but she only had theoretical knowledge learned from books and needed a place to try it out.

"Luoning, the remaining forty thousand people my father moved to you have all arrived at Yueguang Valley. According to your previous arrangements, they have been assigned to Nasika Town, Pisa Town, and Tals Town."

Blanche rode a Magic Flying Carpet back to the castle from the government office and saw Luoning drawing a design on the table.

"What are you drawing?"

Although she could not quite understand it, it did not stop her from feeling that the thing in the drawing was very impressive.

Luoning put down the pen in his hand and said with a smile, "This thing is called a Bicycle; it is a simple means of transport that can facilitate people's travel."

Although there was no ability to produce pneumatic tires at this stage, other structures were easy to manufacture; even if it was a bit hard, it could still be used.

Blanche was very curious. Ever since she and Luoning had been together day and night, she discovered that her husband had a lot of ideas in his head. Although she could not understand the things he drew, there was always a feeling that they were very impressive.

After the two shared a moment of intimacy, Blanche took a stack of books out of her Space Ring.

"This is the latest batch of population registers. Wilson didn't have time to come over, so he had a Knight send them to the government office and asked me to pass them to you."

Luoning's eyes lit up, "There should be over thirty thousand people who arrived this time, right? Calculating it, of the one hundred thousand people your father moved to me, there are only the last batch of twenty thousand left."

The forty thousand people for Wubei Territory had been transported not long ago, but Luoning had not yet received the population registration.

However, even without this population register from Wubei Territory, just relying on the number of people who arrived at Yueguang Valley today, the registered population in his territory could exceed five hundred thousand.

Just like that, as soon as Luoning saw the statistical data, a line of text appeared before his eyes:

【"Population Prosperity" achievement reached, Attribute Point +10000, Energy Essence +20000】

This was the eighth tier of the Population Prosperity achievement, which meant that there was only the final tier left for this achievement.

Luoning took a look; the reward was thirty thousand Attribute Points and sixty thousand Energy Essence, but the required population had to reach one million.

To reach this condition, it was no longer something that could be satisfied by moving people from somewhere else.

Luoning would either have to expand externally to occupy more cities and gain population, or he would have to wait for the population of his territory to explode.

Calculated according to the estimated explosive population growth rate of 15%, there would only be over eighty-five thousand more people in the territory each year.

If this growth rate could be maintained, he would need to wait at least four or five years to reach a population of one million.

The time was not considered long, though.

It was just that compared to the rapid progress of the first three years, the speed of his strength improvement had slowed down now.

With the accumulation during this period, plus the reward from this achievement, the Attribute Points Luoning had accumulated reached 14,448. Adding them all to his Knight progress, the progress was now only at the Sun-level (19460/20000).

And his Magician level progress was still at Great Archmage (4000/30000).

To become a Legendary, he was still short of more than twenty-six thousand points.

According to the sign-in speed of a Marquis, it would also take nearly four years.

Luoning scanned the Achievement Task interface; the next achievement that was easy to complete was 【Siege and Conquest】, but even if he obtained the 8,000 Attribute Point reward, it would only shorten the time by one year.

To be faster, he would either have to become a Duke or kill a Legendary-level extraordinary unit.

"Luoning, I heard that among the two groups of people recently, many are illegitimate children of nobles, and some are even down-and-out nobles. Will it bring trouble if they join our territory?"

Blanche was somewhat worried, "These people must have families or forces supporting them in secret, and you value these knowledgeable people and even put them in important positions. Will they eventually do things that are unfavorable to us?"

Ever since she married over, Blanche had been considering problems from Luoning's perspective, especially after the experience during this period, she thought about more problems.

For nobles, the people they put in important positions were basically people they could trust.

Conversely, those who were not trusted or whose backgrounds were unclear, even if they were capable, would be arranged outside the core circle.

Just like Kalada; he was excellent and had potential, but not only could he not join the Griffin Knights, even the Royal Knights excluded him.

"Although the kind of thing you mentioned is possible, that is only under general circumstances."

Luoning smiled and held her in his arms, "A traitor might be able to change the situation of a battle, but a strong person can completely turn the tide of a battle. This is true on the battlefield, and it is the same in other fields."

"Moreover, although I have used them, I have not let them involve themselves in key positions or core technologies, so the harm they can cause is very limited."

In fact, Luoning even welcomed the people behind these individuals to continuously provide support; this could also be considered as bringing resources to the territory in a disguised way.

These people would even work desperately to perform in order to gain Luoning's trust, which was even more beneficial to the development of the territory.

"Knock, knock~"

The door was knocked, and Tangmu's voice came from outside: "My Lord, Commander Ruidar is outside, saying he has something he wants to see you about."

Blanche stood up from Luoning's embrace and said with a smile, "I'll go get some rest and won't disturb you two."

"Go ahead," Luoning said with a smile.

Soon, Ruidar strode into the castle study.

Ever since the number of troops under Ruidar's command had grown, this Commander of Shanlin Town had gradually regained the aura of a Commander of the Flame Expeditionary Army from his previous life.

Heavy armor, a steady gait, a resolute face, and sharp eyes made it clear to anyone at a glance that he was a general seasoned in battle.

"What is it, Ruidar? You actually have time to come over amidst your busy schedule?"

Ruidar bowed with his hand on his chest and said with a smile, "My Lord, your First Knight Order has completed its expansion and training, and it already possesses a certain level of combat effectiveness."

Nowadays, Luoning's status and prestige in the Auduin Kingdom were no longer what they used to be, and a large number of Professional Knights had come to join him.

Coupled with the use of the Awakening Potion, the number of Primary Knights under his command was massive, to the point that he had even reduced the pay for Primary Knights.

A standard Knight Order possessed 120 Professional Knights, 360 cavalrymen, 100 Archers, and 600 Infantry.

Luoning had expanded these categories to 200, 800, 200, and 1,500 men respectively.

It was for this reason that it had taken Ruidar nearly half a year to organize and train them.

"Hameng recently sent back new intelligence; the Tricia Kingdom and the Molten Duchy, which was occupied by the Holy Storm Organization, have ceased hostilities. The specific situation remains unclear, but what is certain is that the enemy has not reduced their defensive deployment along the border of the two countries."

Luoning said, "Although Crown Prince Jialete has been requesting to send troops to raid Mist City, His Majesty the King has suppressed it using the excuse that preparations are still underway, so much so that while the clouds of war have persisted, the actual time for the war to begin remains uncertain."

Many people speculated that Bruno was waiting for Luoning's Knight Order to be ready.

Ruidar nodded, "My Lord, despite this, I believe we can head to West Wind Hill first to secure this stronghold in advance."

West Wind Hill was a military strategic point that Bruno had arranged for Luoning to garrison, and currently, a Knight Order of the royal family was stationed there.

Luoning only needed to go there to relieve the garrison before the end of the year.

He thought for a moment and said, "How is the formation of the second Knight Order coming along?"

"The numbers of Professional Knights, cavalrymen, and Infantry have met the requirements, but the selection of Archers is still ongoing, which is estimated to take about another month. If you count the training time, it is estimated that they will only possess preliminary combat effectiveness by November."

"Then we shall wait a while longer."

Luoning said, "I will notify His Majesty in early August, and you can set off for West Wind Hill around mid-August. During this period, you can take the opportunity to hand over matters related to the Second Knight Order."

Ruidar nodded slowly, "That works too; I can conduct a period of intensive training for the Professional Knights of the First Knight Order." (End of this chapter)