The Natural Empire of the Oceanic Dragon

Once the thought of conquering territory arose in his mind, that flame could no longer be suppressed. Attilan rubbed his claws together, his eyes narrowed as he looked north.

“How much grain is currently stored in the granaries I ordered you to build?”

The old fishman hesitated for a moment, then braced himself and told the truth.

“Dragon Lord, you instructed me to build two granaries each in Greenscale Town, Water Cellar Town, Great Horn Town, and Stone Fort Town, but only one granary has been built in Greenscale Town and Great Horn Town respectively.”

“Great Horn Town produces the most grain, but it only has a storage of over 300,000 catties of wheat and 500,000 catties of black beans. Since there was no extra grain to store, I took the liberty of not spending manpower and resources to build granaries.”

Attilan frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

“How much farmland is there now?”

“When the Dragon Lord was asleep, everyone cultivated less than two million mu of farmland. In recent years, the population has increased, and the amount of farmland has rapidly expanded to over five million mu.”

“However, the average yield per mu is not as high as when the Dragon Lord personally presided over it. Even though we followed the one-year pasture, one-year wheat and black bean rotation that the Dragon Lord left behind, the annual yield is getting lower and lower.”

“If the kingdom's population continues to increase, everyone will probably have to reduce their daily rations, otherwise I think there will be a shortage of food before the new grain matures.”

Attilan believed that adopting a similar approach could create a magic world version of fertilizer. He had previously vigorously cultivated priests who had mastered spellcasting abilities. In addition to valuing the priests' combat abilities, he actually valued their logistical abilities even more.

The magic fertilizer produced by the druids had a good effect, but the output was not high. Attilan actually wanted to research a magic fertilizer with better universality, even if the effect per unit area was relatively poor.

But as long as the materials used were cheap enough and the output of magic fertilizer was large enough, Attilan believed that he could easily feed a population of 100,000, or even an army of 100,000.

In addition to the yield reduction caused by the fertilizer level, Attilan knew that there was another important reason, that the land occupied by the kingdom lacked druids to coordinate various natural energies.

Originally, various energies only needed to be evenly distributed to the two lands of Hexi and Hedong to effectively promote plant growth, but without coordination, an excess of a single energy would hinder the growth of seeds.

If a piece of farmland suitable for planting was really so easy to cultivate, Attilan's kingdom could not have developed so simply.

If you want to obtain an environmentally suitable grain-producing area, the best way is to let the druids first plant various plants in this land where a certain element is rampant to make the movement of the elements coordinated and stable.

Then cut down the forest and turn the forest into farmland.

Of course, if it is a region where natural energy is stable and the soil is fertile, you can directly settle down, cultivate farmland, and multiply.

However, the wasteland and wetlands controlled by Attilan, although they have been basically managed by him to be able to plant grain and renamed Hexi and Hedong, have not been completely conditioned.

Low grain yield is actually a process of domestication.

If there is no magical power intervention, as long as intelligent life insists on planting grain on this land for decades, this land will also become a comfortable residential area.

For example, the three towns where halflings now live are the most stable environment and the most fertile area they found when they migrated. One place cannot support the halflings who migrated.

They can only disperse to three suitable areas to settle down, and gradually transform the soil around the settlements through their hands, coupled with some unclear talents of the halflings.

Finally, these three high-yield grain areas were formed.

Halflings may have such a talent that can make the soil in the places where they live fertile. Dwarves do not enslave halflings and make the halfling town their granary.

There is actually this consideration. If halflings lose their happiness, their abilities will not be brought into play, and they will not be able to make the soil fertile.

Dwarves and halflings are, in a sense, darlings of the earth. Since they are all relatives, there is naturally no need to use such despicable means as enslavement.

Dwarves are not unable to earn money to buy food.

Attilan didn't have such a deep understanding of halflings before. It was the two and a half years of cultivation in the Emerald Dream that gave him a more thorough understanding of himself, nature, and the races he came into contact with.

He then realized how correct his decision to adopt the slow-boiling frog strategy of encroaching on the halflings was, because he brought more materials from the forest and Greenscale Town to the halflings that could make them feel happy.

The high-yield farmland of the halflings can be expanded again, otherwise, you can only wait for the halflings' population to increase slowly, and the grain yield will increase accordingly.

Now that Attilan is here, he believes that with his promotion, the three halfling towns will soon be transformed into a halfling city.

Halflings will definitely still be the dominant race in this city, but snake dancers, minotaur farmers, centaur herders, fishmen sailors, and fishmen chefs will also become residents of this city.

Not to mention the dwarf blacksmiths, there are already several dwarf blacksmiths in the three towns who are opening blacksmith shops. When this city is built, the number of dwarf blacksmiths will be even greater.

But the main force is not the dwarves of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, but the wandering dwarves in the east who were forced to scatter to the major human countries in the north due to the expansion of the Swamp Wyvern.

He has indeed been wholeheartedly cultivating in the past two and a half years, but in his spare time, he has also been pondering the development of the kingdom.

It's a pity that his soul is not strong enough, otherwise he could communicate through the connection between the Dragon Lord and the priest, and the political affairs of the past two and a half years would not be delayed.

Thinking of the dwarves, Attilan immediately asked:

“I asked Old Blind Eye to send people to collect the wandering dwarves scattered in all directions. I don't know how he's doing?”

“It's okay, those dwarves are too scattered, and many of them are quite stubborn, guarding their blacksmith shops and unwilling to leave. Only a few hundred young dwarves who want to establish a dwarf kingdom have been recruited.”

“Although it was a bit reluctant, Silver Ring still gained their approval and became the leader of these dwarves, including the dwarves who came to rely on him from the Cold Mountain Kingdom.”

“Silver Ring now has almost a thousand dwarves under his command, which can basically solve the daily needs for agricultural tools and weapons. Armor that requires higher quality ore is still the responsibility of the Cold Mountain Kingdom.”

“Actually, I think the weapons forged by the dwarves under Silver Ring are not as good as those of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, but they are enough for our warriors to use.”

“It just so happens that the minotaurs, centaurs, and lizardmen are all quite strong. If the quality is not enough, making the weapons bigger is also okay.”

“Dragon Lord, now we can dispatch more than 20,000 warriors at a time, and it will not affect grain production. I don't know when we will attack the black dragon in the east?”

“This time, the elven rangers want to unite with us to launch a dragon-slaying campaign against the black dragon and her dependents who attacked the elven villages.”

“If you want to ensure that the black dragon does not escape, it is not possible without the Dragon Lord present.”

Attilan nodded with satisfaction. The old fishman's flattery was indeed very comforting.

“The black dragon has so quickly gained confidant subordinates who can launch attacks on elven villages?”

“Actually, it was also with the help of some dark elves. The black dragon's subordinates are all some clumsy and disorderly guys who still use weapons made of stone and wood.”

“But the dark elves sent instructors and also supported the black dragon with some iron weapons. I heard that they lack everything underground, but they don't lack ore, which can be used to make a large number of weapons.”

“The dark elves sent weapons to the black dragon, hoping that the black dragon would lead her dependents to launch attacks on the elven villages from the north, so that the dark elves could pull out a gap in the defense of the ranger troops.”

“Attack the eastern elven villages and get the elven slaves they want.”

The corners of Attilan's mouth twitched. As expected, the dark elves would do things that would harm others without benefiting themselves in order to oppose the elves on the ground.

“So, the elves really need our help?”

The old fishman nodded, took out a piece of bark paper, opened it, and handed it to Attilan.

“This is a letter sent by the elven ranger general, which records some of the collusion between the dark elves and the black dragon. Because the Dragon Lord is not here, we can actually only help the elves to a limited extent.”

If you want to guard against the black dragon, you can only gather the most powerful masters of the Atlantis Kingdom, such as the minotaur Lysta, the fishman Fischer, the centaur Wind Chaser, and the snake Ophelia.

They could only fight on the ground. If they wanted to fight the flying black dragon, they could only kill it by concentrating their strength, but the chances were not high.

The black dragon was likely to run, and they couldn't stop it.

Without sufficient benefits, the opinions of these overseers, commanders, and civil affairs officers were not unified, so they had not been able to come to a suitable decision.

"Is the food shortage because you didn't support the elves, so the elves also reduced the amount of food they sold to us?"

The old merman quickly explained:

"Although we didn't actively help the elves attack the black dragon, we also sent people to help them resist the werewolf tribe in the west, allowing them to deploy more people to deal with the black dragon and the dark elves."

"The werewolf tribe in the west? Is there a significant force south of the Great Desert?"

The old merman nodded and said:

"The land south of the Great Desert is not fertile, but it is not very barren either. West of the Water Elf Kingdom are some scattered werewolf, wild boar, and centaur tribes."

"Because the centaur tribes live relatively well, very few people responded to Old Blind Eye's recruitment. Rather than work, they prefer to rush into the elves' villages and steal half a year's or even a year's worth of food at a time."

Attilan's eyes were a little unkind.

"They don't know how to appreciate favors. Since some guys are unwilling to become dependents, then let them become slaves. Some guys who joined me earlier have probably been farming for five years."

"It's time to let them have a good life. Capture some unruly guys to come back to farm, graze, and raise fish. That's just right."

The old merman coughed twice.

"In the rainforest in the east, some tribes that are unwilling to join us are now slaves of the kingdom. They are doing those difficult and high-mortality jobs."

"Don't you know, kobolds aren't good at doing other things, but they are definitely much better at being supervisors than minotaurs and centaurs."

That's right, there are also kobolds!

"What's the situation with the kobolds?"

The old merman curled his lips.

"Because they haven't seen the Dragon Lord for a long time, some kobolds born later have become restless and even want to join the black dragon. These guys have been dealt with by the kobold leader."

"Then he consciously limited the number of kobolds born. Now there are only less than 10,000 kobolds, but compared to the kobolds they gave birth to randomly before."

"The kobolds born in the past year are obviously taller than before, and there is even a little guy who was born with a pair of small wings on his back."

Attilan perked up.

"Winged kobolds, a rare breed, where is he, let me see, whose seed is it?"

"It's the kobold leader. He doesn't know when he got involved with a druid in the forest. He drank a lot of magic potions, and every time he was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground."

"But there are gains. His sons are more talented than the others. Compared to those kobolds who can only work, his sons have the potential to become warriors and warlocks."

"That's pretty good."

At this time, the whole pig feast that Attilan wanted was finally served. Attilan grabbed a pig's leg and swallowed it without even taking two bites. He used to say, why was Zhu Bajie so anxious to eat ginseng fruit?

Now he understands.

He hadn't eaten braised pig's leg for two and a half years, and he was really a little anxious.

"Have the kitchen make a few more pigs!"

The old merman nodded happily.

"Dragon Lord, don't worry. Qinglin Town can now stably slaughter 300 meat pigs weighing more than 200 catties a month to supply the entire kingdom. Although there is not much meat left in everyone's mouth."

"But at least you can still taste the meat. The kitchen has a lot of ready-made pork, so I can guarantee that the Dragon Lord will be full."

To be honest, Attilan didn't even know how much pork he could eat in one sitting when he ate with his belly open.

This time Attilan was more elegant, picking up the pig's leg and slowly biting it.

With a bang, the door of the banquet hall was pushed open. Attilan took a closer look and saw that it was the leopard woman who had rushed in in a hurry.

"Leopard Woman, what's the matter that's so urgent? Have you eaten? Would you like to eat something together?"

"There's no time to explain. Hurry up and gather your men and go with me to rescue Vereesa!"

Attilan looked at the leopard woman in surprise and frowned and asked:

"Vereesa? When did you get to know her, and you're so actively helping her?"

The leopard woman waved her hand impatiently.

"Why do you have so many questions! You haven't shown up for such a long time, and it's not easy for you to come out. Why is it so difficult for me to ask you to do something? Just tell me if you'll help or not?"

Attilan shook his head and explained:

"From a friend's point of view, if you want me to help your friend, then I can go there myself, but you want me to send troops to help the ranger general Vereesa."

"That's different!"

The leopard woman stomped her feet anxiously.

"What's the difference? Let's go quickly, if we don't go, Vereesa will be killed by the dark elf mage of the black dragon!"

Attilan frowned and said:

"Don't worry, Vereesa has that level 20 great druid grandma, she definitely won't die."

The leopard woman's expression became even more anxious.

"It's because her grandma isn't here that she needs your help!"

"Where did her grandma go?"

The leopard woman quickly said:

"I heard that she got a treasure and had a chance to break through to become a legendary druid, so she went to a secret realm to retreat and prepare to break through. That secret realm can't receive outside information."

"I don't know how the dark elves found out that the great druid was not there, seized the opportunity, and led troops to attack an important town of the elves in the east, which had several thousand elf elders and children."

"Once the city is broken, they will all be killed by the dark elves or taken away as slaves."

Attilan frowned. He felt that there must be something fishy in this. How could it be so easy to get a treasure that would help the great druid break through? This old woman has really lived too long and is confused.

I hope she doesn't die in the secret realm.

Attilan always felt that this was a deal between the mage king of the Water Elf Kingdom and the dark elves. It had the meaning of rather giving it to a friendly country than to a slave at home.

"I'll go and take a look with you first. As for whether we need to send troops, it depends on what conditions Vereesa can offer."

Attilan spread out his palm and placed it in front of the leopard woman.

"Come up, I'll take you directly over there."

The leopard woman said a little uncertainly:

"Although you are much bigger than you were two years ago, your palm is not big enough to stand on, okay? Are you sure I won't fall halfway?"

Attilan glared at her.

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to stand in my palm. I will use a magic shield to protect you inside and ensure that you arrive at the battlefield safely!"

The leopard woman stepped on the palm, and a layer of blue dragon scale-like circular shield protected her. She knocked on the shield with her hand and found that it was indeed very strong.

Attilan soared into the sky and even let out a loud dragon roar when passing by Rainforest Town.

The people working below, whether they were mermen, minotaurs, centaurs, lizardmen, or snake people, all raised their hands and shouted in unison:

"The Dragon Lord is back! The Dragon Lord is back!"

Then they all knelt down and kowtowed in the direction where Attilan was going.

When he arrived at Central Town, Attilan repeated the previous operation. The huge dragon body and the suffocating dragon might made his subjects kneel down and worship him.

The leopard woman knocked on the shield hard.

"Can't you go in a straight line! If you want to show off your power, when can't you do it!"

Attilan had a smile on his lips.

"I'm going in a straight line."

"I'm talking about flying directly to the elf city where the battlefield is located."

"Don't worry, if the elves can't stop it, the city would have been broken long ago. There's no way you can wait for you to move reinforcements. If they can stop it, they won't be short of this little time."

If you rush to help, the elves may not value it. If the city is broken, it will be the right time for him to come out and turn the tide.

Before he could see the edge of the city, Attilan felt a strong magical fluctuation from afar.

"The dark elves are bullying the wood elf rangers because their spells are not powerful enough, so they plan to use mages to break the city!"

The leopard woman said anxiously:

"Knowing that, why don't you hurry up!"

When Attilan arrived, he happened to see a huge magic energy ball impacting the city wall, directly blasting a huge gap. The mermen and lizardmen under the black dragon's command entered in droves under the leadership of the dark elf warriors.

Even the black dragon was also circling in the sky, ready to rush into the city to kill.

Attilan immediately let out a earth-shattering dragon roar to announce his arrival.

He didn't even think that with just a dragon roar, the black dragon actually turned around and ran away.

"What's wrong with this black dragon?"