Chapter 263: Reborn Black Wind Fort

On the ruins of Black Wind Fort, reconstruction work is in full swing.

The turmoil caused by Zakuro caused many buildings to collapse, and the streets were full of rubble and scorched marks.

For the residents of Black Wind Fort, this disaster was heart-pounding, and they searched for their lost homes on this scorched earth, their eyes full of caution and vigilance.

And among them, a group of strange-looking skeleton soldiers were directing the construction site.

Although these guys didn't make any terrifying low roars, the ghostly light in their pitch-black eye sockets and on their skeletons still made the goblins and Hell dwarves shudder.

"Tsk, Lord Demon King's servants are here again..."

A short goblin hid in a corner, glancing timidly at the group of skeleton soldiers, whispering.

"These guys live in the countryside deep in the labyrinth, I don't know what's in their heads..."

"Brains? Undead don't have that thing!" Another goblin screamed in a low voice.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, don't let them hear you." The companion beside him pulled him vigilantly.

Although the goblins of Black Wind Fort had never really come into contact with these "Lord Demon King's servants," they had already vaguely heard that these strange skeleton soldiers were not ordinary undead, but a group of madmen from the frontier of Hell, specializing in doing work for the Demon King, and liking to toss about some inexplicable things—just like what they were doing today.

On the ruins of Black Wind Fort, players were implementing their great "reconstruction plan."

If that great decisive battle had completely fed the combat-class players in the server, then now it was the home field for the life-class players.

Only by breaking can we build; now is the time to do a big job!

A skeleton player "clattered" and spread a blueprint on the ground, the soul fire in his eyes burning violently, clearly immersed in his "great conception."

"Look! Tap water system!"

The skeleton soldier, who didn't look like he had a good brain, tapped the drawing with his sharp finger bones, shouting at the gnome engineer beside him, the translation crystal hanging on his chest buzzing.

"Purification device, water supply pipeline, water circulation treatment system... as long as these are done, the water environment of Black Wind Fort can immediately be improved by a grade! I just ask, who can refuse a happy life with clean water to drink every day?"

"... This, this is?! Inscription?! Incredible... this thing can actually be used like this..." A gnome engineer beside him stared at the blueprint, his eyes shocked, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

He was one of the few local residents of Black Wind Fort who could understand the players' ideas. Although his heart was still full of doubts—how could these "country bumpkins" living deep in the labyrinth come up with such advanced structures between steam technology and magic energy, he had to admit that the design was indeed quite exquisite, not losing to the magic energy technology popular in the Demon Capital at all.

"This... is indeed a good idea." The gnome engineer narrowed his eyes, touching his cunning chin and thinking, "Combining magic energy technology with steam power can reduce magic energy consumption and improve the stability of system operation... if successful, the water usage method of Black Wind Fort can indeed usher in a leap-forward revolution."

Of course.

This is purely from a technical point of view.

Whether any Lord is willing to spend so much money for goblins, he couldn't figure out.

Maybe install a set in the Lord's Mansion first to try?

Hearing this, several skeleton players patted their chests proudly, their bones clattering.

"Look what I said? The NPCs in this game are all easy to talk to, as long as you are as smart as me, you can lead the dog developers by the nose—"

"Boss is awesome!"

"666!"

However, just as the players were complacent, the Hell dwarves watching from the side were full of confusion.

A big man with a rough beard frowned and asked in a muffled voice: "I don't understand, why do you want to... uh, purify the water you give to goblins? Just supply it directly to them, right?"

The skeleton players were stunned for a moment, then jumped up.

"What kind of heaven-defying remark is this?!"

"You don't understand a hammer! Water pollution will cause plague! Goblins get sick, productivity drops, labor loss, the economic development of Black Wind Fort will be seriously affected! Lord Demon King's treasury will shrink! This is no small matter!"

"Yeah! If goblins get sick, they have to find a doctor to treat them, increasing medical costs, leading to waste of resources! In the long run, this is a big problem!"

"And have you guys ever thought that a healthy worker can do twice the work! Black Wind Fort wants to develop, infrastructure must keep up, this is the inevitable trend of modern industrial society!"

The skeletons waved their bone claws one by one, their tongues blossoming with lotus flowers, trying hard to popularize their grand industrialization concept to the Hell dwarves.

The Hell dwarves listened with question marks all over their heads, looking at each other, clearly not fully understanding.

But they probably understood one thing—these skeleton soldiers from the labyrinth had a pile of ideas completely different from them in their heads.

"... These guys, really think too much." A Hell dwarf whispered.

Goblins have their own witch doctors, the probability of curing and not curing is half and half, they are happy themselves, why care so much?

Most Hell dwarves were indifferent, but some old stubborn ones who valued tradition were so angry that their beards were blowing and eyes were staring.

In their hometown, goblins have things tied around their necks. Seeing these impolite things running around everywhere on the street, they had already made great sacrifices.

Improve their lives?

Even the Demon Capital wouldn't do such an excessive thing!

Let the Hell dwarves' lives get better first!

Seeing the argument between the two sides getting more and more intense, a few goblin small leaders ran out to smooth things over.

"Hey hey hey! Everyone calm down! Calm down!" A chubby goblin nodded and bowed, looking at the players with a full face of smiles, "Lord Demon King's servants are wise and martial! You have considered very thoroughly, we little goblins are ten thousand times admiring! But... we are healthy, really not so easy to get sick!"

Another goblin small leader also nodded repeatedly, smiling fawningly, "Yeah yeah, we goblins are tough! This Black Wind Fort has been like this for many years, where are there so many plagues! How about... compromise? Water supply pipelines of course must have, this way taking water will be much more convenient, but purification devices... don't waste resources, right?"

"Yes yes yes!" A group of goblins immediately echoed, looking like "Lord Demon King's servants are the most reasonable," their eyes full of expectation.

The skeleton players looked at each other, the soul fire in their eyes shaking slightly, not knowing what to say for a while.

They originally thought that after a lot of hard work, they could make these Black Wind Fort natives realize the importance of clean drinking water by explaining the health of these goblin laborers, labor loss, and industrial development. But didn't expect... the locals don't care at all?

It's okay if the Hell dwarves don't care, after all, you can't expect them to wear the same pants as goblins, but why don't goblins care either?!

"No... aren't you guys afraid of getting sick?" A skeleton player couldn't help but ask.

"Demon God above, of course we are not afraid!" A goblin small leader patted his withered chest and laughed triumphantly, "We goblins are not a delicate race, we just love drinking salty ones!"

"Yeah yeah, we live well, where is it so easy to get sick?" Another goblin leader nodded repeatedly, a fawning smile on his face, "Besides, the previous plague, that was because someone poisoned the water, it has nothing to do with whether the water is clean or not!"

The skeleton players were silent all of a sudden.

They originally thought these goblins were simply ignorant and didn't realize the seriousness of the hygiene problem at all, but now it seems they actually knew it clearly in their hearts, just relying on their racial talent not to be afraid.

"... Fine." The leading skeleton player sighed and waved his hand, "Then follow what you guys said, water pipe supply system installation, purification device... whatever, anyway, it's you guys drinking it yourselves."

The players' interest in this matter instantly diminished by more than half, mainly because just installing a water pipe was boring, not in line with their "Magic Crystal Punk Aesthetics," and there was no point in making things that already existed in reality.

But since even the goblins themselves didn't care, their insistence seemed self-defeating. The Demon King's quest indeed didn't write "make Black Wind Fort's sewers reach the hygiene standards of modern society." Thinking this way, they could also convince themselves.

Then just fool around.

A few goblin leaders saw this, laughing, and didn't feel surprised at all in their hearts.

These "Lord Demon King's servants" clearly didn't understand the situation. The previous plague in Black Wind Fort was entirely because the Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce and the Delagong family poisoned the water source. If it weren't for that group of bastards deliberately creating turmoil, who would fall down after drinking two mouthfuls of water?

And now, Elder Zakuro is dead, and the Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce has been cleaned up, who else dares to do this in Black Wind Fort?

Of course, they weren't completely without selfishness.

After all, they themselves didn't drink the water in the goblin community at all, and the easier the equipment was to maintain, the more convenient it was for them to fish for money.

"Haha, Lord Demon King's servants are indeed reasonable!" A goblin small leader laughed until his eyes narrowed into a slit, and turned to wave at the goblins on the construction site, "Alright alright, hurry up and work, don't let Lord Demon King's servants see the joke!"

A group of goblins scattered with laughter, continuing to dig ditches and lay pipes, busy and happy.

As for those skeleton players, looking at this group of thin but nimble natives, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts—

These guys, they really live open-mindedly...

Night fell, the light of the magic crystal lamp posts slowly extinguished, replaced by the coal ball lamps on both sides of the street slowly lighting up.

After more than half a month of rest, although many buildings still carried traces of repair, the overall vitality had been restored.

Peddlers began to shout again, workers finished a day's labor, preparing to drink a few cups in the tavern, and in this hustle and bustle, a group of skeleton players were gathered in a circle, discussing their new "plan" with great interest.

And Luo Yan walked among the players and NPCs, a satisfied smile on his face.

Originally he should have returned here the day before yesterday, but unfortunately, Miss Mi Ya was hard to refuse, insisting on holding a banquet for his inauguration.

Luo Yan originally felt it wasn't suitable to be so high-profile, but seeing Miss Mi Ya so enthusiastic about wanting to help herself, and even worried that he and the new head of the Delagong family would clash again, she specially sent Xinuo over.

Dear Miss Mi Ya didn't know that Xinuo Delagong was actually his person long ago. That bull-headed man who was originally not quite normal in the head had also matured and become steady a lot after experiencing the change of the Chaos Gate.

In short, the banquet went very happily, the only flaw was that Vivian didn't know how she got the news, and then came uninvited with a thick skin, making Mi Ya's teeth itch with hatred but she couldn't do anything about her, and she had to coax this little ancestor with a smiling face.

Who told her to be an adult demon?

Vivian was still a little bit short.

In short, the banquet finally ended in a friendly atmosphere, although the price was that someone was almost torn in two.

Luo Yan was incomparably glad for the "gift" his father sent him before leaving.

Having promoted to Gold level, he didn't have to worry about being sucked into an undead by a succubus or vampire.

However, considering his constitution attribute sometimes, he still had some faint worries in his heart.

The Dragon God's blessing only bestowed him with powerful resistance and recovery, but didn't bestow him with too much physical strength...

Luo Yan walked slowly through the repaired commercial area, watching the brand-new shop signs being hung up, watching the workers finish a day's labor with tired but satisfied faces, the corners of his mouth rising more and more.

And just at this moment, a sharp voice suddenly came from the side.

"Lord Demon King!"

The skeleton player with the ID 【Never Surrender】 jumped out, his tone excited to the point that his soul fire was jumping around in his eye sockets, taking the momentum of a robbery and shouting loudly, "We have a brilliant idea!"

"That's right, please believe me! You will definitely be impressed by our idea!" Another player 【Taming Master】 echoed, while rubbing his hands, gesturing some strange gestures.

Impressed to the ground is fine.

There is no such way to see him.

But compared to the bureaucrats in the Council Building, Luo Yan still liked these straightforward guys more.

However, just as he was about to open his mouth kindly, he saw another player with the ID 【Undead Entrepreneur】 eagerly lean over and talk endlessly.

"We decided to set up a 'Training Park' in Black Wind Fort, specifically to deal with the adventurers caught in the labyrinth!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing with his hands, "We analyzed it, the ordinary torture methods are too inefficient, it's better to engage in a systematic, industrialized, and large-scale 're-education base'! Guaranteed that these human adventurers will be convinced one by one, completely turning into my—pfft, your shape!"

Luo Yan almost choked on his own saliva, coughing before saying.

"This... is not very good."

Anyway, humans are protected animals for face projects in the Demon Capital; even if they want to do it, they can't do it in Black Wind Fort.

Disaster Fort is okay.

He hadn't finished speaking when 【Never Surrender】 snatched to add: "But having said that, the environment of Black Wind Fort is so bad, training is actually not needed at all, just throw them here to live for a few days!" "Yes yes yes!" 【Taming Master】 excitedly slapped his thigh, his tone carrying unconcealable pride, "Let them live with goblins! See how long they can hold out without going crazy!"

Luo Yan's brows jumped, maintaining the smile on his face.

"Not to that extent, my place is not as—as you guys describe—"

"That's too Hellish!" 【Undead Entrepreneur】 said excitedly, thinking he was flattering, excitedly saying, "Look at this broken place, the environment is bad, life is difficult, strange smells are everywhere, just the smell of pot ash and goblin-special 'delicacies' in the air is enough to make the most determined warrior mentally collapse!"

【Never Surrender】 spread his hands, "Seriously, no training needed at all, just let them experience the 'real life' of Black Wind Fort, they will beg for mercy in minutes!"

Luo Yan listened to these players talking eloquently, describing his territory as Hell, with a speechless expression.

Although this is indeed Hell, it's not as Hellish as they describe, right?!

Touching his conscience, his moral level should be the highest among demons.

And just at this moment, his gaze happened to sweep across the street nearby, just seeing a goblin peddler laughing and pouring a spoonful of unknown liquid into the pot, then secretly adding a handful of snot.

Immediately following, the smell that made undead without noses couldn't help but suffocate instantly permeated.

A Hell dwarf working on the construction site nearby accidentally smelled it, his face turned black, and he took off the wine pot at his waist and took a big gulp without hesitation, not knowing whether he wanted to use strong liquor to disinfect, or took the opportunity to drink during working hours.

!

However, unlike the Hell dwarves, those goblins showed greedy expressions while smelling the smell in the big pot... perhaps because they were too short, they didn't see what the peddler did.

... Alright.

The players might not have completely exaggerated.

But this is clearly not his own reason, but that goblins are just like this, while scolding why goblins are so bad

Luo Yan was silent for a moment, ultimately choosing to face this group of excited undead bones with the most elegant attitude.

"Since you all feel that the environment of Black Wind Fortress is comparable to hell, do you have any suggestions for improvement?"

The players were stunned and exchanged glances.

【Never Surrender】 thought about it seriously and began counting on their fingers: "First, the food issue. Goblin stew should absolutely be strictly prohibited by the Demon King!"

Hmm.

That is not very realistic, but one could introduce health regulatory ordinances, have Sini Ke regularly blackmail illegal vendors, and increase the cost of breaking the law.

Luo Yan appeared to be listening intently, signaling for them to continue.

【Taming Master】 nodded repeatedly. "Next is the air quality issue. The foul stench in the market could be removed using some magic. Although we skeletons don't have noses, we really don't want to see NPCs vomiting."

【Undead Entrepreneur】 added: "Then there is the accommodation environment. Can we have some decent inns here? We don't ask for the enjoyment of the Demon Capital's nobles, but at least don't make people feel there's no difference between sleeping on the floor and sleeping in an inn, right?"

The players spoke one after another, and in the end, they listed a long string of "environmental optimization suggestions" for Black Wind Fortress.

Luo Yan listened calmly, then picked up his personal notebook, took a pen, and elegantly wrote down a few lines, closed the book, and turned to hand it to the old butler behind him.

"Go handle it," he said in a calm tone, as if this were just an ordinary administrative document.

This time he didn't use a magic quill, but wrote it by hand himself.

The old butler, who followed closely behind, took the notebook, looked down, and saw the first page written:

——Black Wind Fortress Renovation Plan——

1. Research how to reduce the odor of goblin stew (priority).

2. Research and introduce food safety ordinances; it must at least look less disgusting.

3. Research air purification plans to prevent tourists (if there are any), laborers, and vendors from vomiting in the streets.

4. Appropriately improve accommodation conditions.

The old butler was silent for a while and sighed slightly, but still respectfully accepted the order.

"Yes, my lord."

Seeing that the Demon King was so open-minded and had truly adopted their suggestions, the surrounding players were excited and immediately continued to ask.

"Demon King, what about the training park? Should we arrange that?"

"Me, me, me! I want to sign up to be a trainer!"

"I'll be responsible for training elves!"

"I'll train dwarves!"

"Damn, you have heavy tastes!"

"W-why... is that not allowed? There are petite and cute dwarves too; I've seen them at Calamity Fortress!" A small demon argued on the basis of reason, face flushed red, and threw a punch at the other players who were laughing at him.

Luo Yan revealed a gentle smile and spoke slowly—

"Get out."

This one-word mantra was enough to subdue this group of evil natural disasters...

The inspection came to an end.

Luo Yan didn't want to disturb his subjects too much. After all, as long as he was around them, they felt completely uncomfortable, and even the work they could usually do well, they would do clumsily.

Returning to the Lord's Mansion, although the outer walls of the mansion had not been completely repaired, the facilities inside had been restored to a decent state; at least there was no problem with living there.

At this time, his old butler hesitated for a moment, stepped forward half a step, and whispered.

"My lord, can we talk?"

Luo Yan stopped, turned to look at the old butler who had walked over, and said kindly.

"Speak, I'm listening."

The old butler stood beside him, pondered for a moment, and said: "The order of Black Wind Fortress has indeed been restored, but... the negative impact caused by the Chamber of Commerce Alliance is too great. The tragedy that happened that night made many merchants fearful. They may not be willing to return, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the economy of Black Wind Fortress. I believe you have also seen it from the account books; squeezing them out is a lose-lose situation for us."

He paused, looking at the end of the street with complex eyes.

That group of goblins was busy cleaning up an abandoned warehouse, smiling broadly while haggling with several skeleton players. It was they who had taken advantage of the fire to dismantle the place, and now they were pretending as if nothing had happened.

The old butler frowned and continued in a low voice.

"My lord, forgive my bluntness, but you are still too kind to these goblins, even... to the point of indulgence. I know you want to use them, but now our conflict with the Dragon family has ended, and they, being too united, are gradually becoming a burden. You should have noticed that they are becoming lazier and lazier, and more and more perfunctory. They drag their feet for half a day even for simple tasks, and they are extremely xenophobic... I can even imagine what they will do next."

His voice was very earnest, and he was considering the problem entirely from the perspective of the lord.

As a demon-human, he had both human and demon blood, and for a group like goblins, he felt an instinctive distrust... because he understood them too well.

Luo Yan did not respond immediately, just listening quietly.

The old butler glanced at him, lowered his voice, his eyes flickering slightly, and dared to advise.

"My lord, you know I have always considered things from your standpoint. Even if I am blamed by you, I must say it: Sini Ke is no longer useful! His mission ended when the Chamber of Commerce Alliance was cleared. Keeping him may not be a good thing; it is far less cost-effective than putting him on trial..."

Disposing of a tool after using it is the most normal thing in the world. The Dragon family did it, and other families in hell have done the same, and smart tools understand their own fate.

Sini Ke would not resist.

Unless he wanted his whole family to disappear, the kind where not a single cent is left.

However, Luo Yan smiled faintly.

He withdrew his gaze, looked around at the streets that had regained their vitality, and said in a calm tone.

"You're overthinking it. I don't hate goblin merchants; I only hate greedy merchants who don't listen. The reason they aren't returning isn't because of fear, but because their keen sense of smell tells them that Elder Zakro is still alive and the 'war' isn't over. What they fear is that the flames of war will burn back, and they fear uncertainty."

The old butler nodded silently, not refuting.

Luo Yan continued, a meaningful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth: "But now, the dust has settled, and they have long been eager to squeeze in. Do you know how they fawned over me when I was in the Demon Capital? They even spent huge sums of money to bribe nobles who wouldn't usually give them a second look to help bridge their business deals. They are eager to immediately step over the corpses of the Serrated Chamber of Commerce to replace those guys who stood on the wrong side."

The whole thing isn't that complicated; the key core is one thing—is Zakro dead or not.

As soon as the "Demon Capital Daily" announced this news, the chambers of commerce throughout the Demon Capital were stirring. If he hadn't stopped them, they would have already killed their way in to divide the cake.

Black Wind Fortress needs to cultivate some of its own forces. This sweeping reconstruction and the renovation of the old community are to provide space for those newly sprouted flowers and plants to grow and strengthen.

They will form new factions, and these intricate networks of relationships can, to a certain extent, balance the excessive influence of Sini Ke and his Neighborhood Committee.

His garden shouldn't just have man-eating vines or ghost-leaf grass; it should also have many rare species, just like the greenhouse mines outside Beifeng City.

In this way, the garden can be considered well-tended, and he can safely return to the labyrinth in Lei Ming County to continue cultivating his core territory.

"... As for Sini Ke," looking at the old butler who had fallen into deep thought, Luo Yan continued, "he is a smart man, and he climbed up from the bottom. This guy has rich experience in the world, and most importantly, he knows where his place is."

Subsequently, his gaze shifted to Sini Ke in the distance.

That small goblin was squatting in front of a newly opened shop, whispering something to several shopkeepers.

The shopkeepers all had fawning smiles on their faces, seemingly admiring his ideas to the point of prostration.

Luo Yan didn't care what his tricks were, but to gain the trust of the bottom-level goblins, it's impossible to do it just by drinking and snoring; there must be something extraordinary about him.

"He is a very useful tool. Not only can he help me establish the lower-level order of Black Wind Fortress, but he can also help me check and balance foreign chambers of commerce. Not only will I not dispose of him, I will reuse him... until one day he thinks his wings have hardened and he colludes with outsiders like Geluo Ke; only then will it be his doomsday."

The old butler was silent for a long time, a smile spread across his face, and he nodded in complete submission.

"Understood, my lord."

Actually, as long as the Lord feels it's good, he has nothing to say.

The only thing he worried about was the Lord listening too much to one person's advice, but now it seems he was obviously overthinking it.

How could someone who can gain the respect of the Padriqi family be an ordinary person?

The eyes of those demons have always been the best in the entire hell; they haven't placed a wrong bet in five hundred years.

It is he himself who might truly be outdated.

Luo Yan didn't say anything more, just lifted his chin slightly, looking indifferently at Black Wind Fortress, which was gradually returning to prosperity under the night.

That city, which had stood up again amidst smoke and ruins, was moving toward a new order.

Perhaps it won't be long before he can safely leave this place.

(End of chapter)