The Natural Empire of the Oceanic Dragon

Atlan hadn't expected the minotaurs to adapt to their new life so quickly. Seeing their good performance, he added more food to their bowls each day, now enough to fill them to about eighty percent at each meal.

The hierarchical upgrade path—bottom-level slaves, squad leaders, retainers, and retainer captains—differentiated the minotaurs while also giving them a goal to strive for.

Atlan also sent a squad of minotaurs to pick baobab fruit. Carrying backpacks woven from vines, a single minotaur could bring back over two hundred baobab fruits from one tree.

Minotaurs aren't vegetarians, and they weren't fully tamed yet. If they were kept constantly hungry, they might really rebel.

They were willing to be slaves because Atlan provided a comfortable living environment and delicious food. But baobab fruit and sand sheep weren't unlimited, so Atlan had to consider finding new food sources.

In seven days, the minotaurs' results were very gratifying. All one thousand acres of land had been cleared. Atlan was now only worried that the wheat seeds he had purchased were too few and wouldn't be enough.

This thousand acres couldn't be directly sown with wheat yet. With the soil's current fertility, the yield would be quite touching, definitely breaking below one hundred catties per acre.

To turn barren land into fertile fields, fertility needed to be replenished, and the process of fertilizing the land was divided into three steps.

The first step: burn the wasteland!

Today, half of the minotaurs were assigned to collect dead branches and fallen leaves from the forest to the north, bring them back, and spread them on the farmland. Then, they would set fire to the farmland, burning as many insect eggs and remaining grass roots as possible.

The ashes left after the flames burned out were natural fertilizer.

Watching the wildfire raging across the farmland, the minotaurs didn't understand why they were told to collect dead branches and fallen leaves from the forest, only to burn them all in one go.

One minotaur said as a matter of course:

"Since it is the Dragon Lord's order, it is naturally correct. We only need to execute it."

This sentence happened to be heard by Atlan, who was watching the burning of the wasteland. He was immediately overjoyed and decided that such a loyal lackey must be rewarded.

"Well said! Everyone should learn from him. The kitchen will give him an extra bowl of rice today!"

Receiving the Dragon Lord's praise, this minotaur held his head high while working.

The fertility provided by burning the wasteland alone was naturally not enough. The remaining half of the minotaurs were assigned by Atlan to dredge the river.

The silt in the river was all good humus. The dried river mud was sprinkled on the farmland after the wasteland had been burned, finally giving the farmland a hint of fertile, dark气息.

According to a druid's vision, the land was becoming vibrant, and vitality began to flow within it, giving the farmland a little bit of life. Another seven days passed.

Half a month had passed, and out of a total of 46 minotaurs, there were 6 retainers, 13 squad leaders, and the minotaur chieftain who had been slacking off.

The chieftain occasionally worked, but not much. Therefore, he hadn't been full for the past half month, and his burly figure had begun to thin, but his eyes were becoming brighter and brighter.

"Dredging the river is a long-term job. Keep an eye on them and continue doing it. The land reclamation can be stopped for now. Level and widen the road from the camp to the lake. It's more convenient to transport supplies by water."

"Leave it to me."

The half-goat person was no longer worried that the minotaurs would rebel. The savage and brutal minotaurs had been tamed by Atlan into docile oxen, doing whatever they were told.

Even an adult dragon couldn't make the minotaurs so obedient through coercion and enticement. And the fishmen, upon seeing the grain, immediately served him wholeheartedly.

Could it be that Atlan is really a genius?

The half-goat person looked at the eloquent Atlan with a complex expression.

"By the way, change the condition for hunting three sand sheep to capturing two sand sheep alive. Planting wheat alone can't fully utilize the hilly terrain. In the future, the flatter areas should be reclaimed into farmland."

"Plant pasture on the hills to raise sheep, plant oak trees to provide building materials, and plant fruit and nut trees to provide snacks."

The half-goat person waved his hand impatiently.

"Alright, it's not like you're not coming back. I'm the town chief of Greenscale Town. You can't possibly let me manage Great Horn Town all the time, can you?"

After flying back to the forest, Atlan originally wanted to go directly to the Vine Woman to ask for purple clover seeds. After the purple clover bloomed, he could also ask for a few queen bees to raise bees and make honey.

Who knew that he would encounter the bear man as soon as he came back? His master summoned him, so he had to go down.

"Master, what did you call me for?"

"Recently, you've been distracted in your cultivation. You're not transplanting trees anymore, and you're not making magical cuisine anymore. Are the minotaurs that interesting?"

As soon as Atlan heard this, he understood that the bear man wanted to eat honey bread.

"Master, once the wasteland reclamation is over, we can plant purple clover to raise bees and make honey. I don't have much money left, but I still have money to buy flour. I guarantee you'll have honey bread to eat!"

The bear man looked at Atlan with a serious expression.

"What honey bread? I'm admonishing you to be serious about your cultivation!"

Atlan looked at the bear man with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. He wouldn't expose his little thoughts.

"I'm cultivating now. Building canals all the way to the southwest to transport water vapor to the southwestern wilderness and transforming the barren plains into fertile farmland—how is that not cultivation?"

"There are a full hundred thousand acres of land. Just planting wheat on the newly reclaimed land can feed fifty thousand people. If I improve the soil fertility later, I think I can achieve a yield of four hundred catties of wheat per acre."

"By then, I can feed a hundred thousand people!"

The bear man didn't comment on Atlan's arrogant statement of feeding a hundred thousand people. The question he was concerned about was…

"Why are there only a hundred thousand acres? The southwestern desert stretches for hundreds of miles. Are you only reclaiming the area that is currently suitable for planting? Won't these lands with vitality turn into desert again in a few years after you reclaim them?"

Atlan still wanted to argue, but the bear man continued:

"If you don't have the confidence to manage the desert, how can you have the confidence to manage a hundred thousand acres of farmland? Is this the druid's path that I taught you?"

"But Master, isn't the druid's path you taught me about maintaining the balance of nature? The desert has its own set of operating rules."

Who knew that the bear man would coldly snort.

"The druid's path is not such an inflexible thing. Whatever you want to do, that's what your druid's path is. Would you say there is more life in the desert, or more life in the forest?"

"Naturally, it's the forest."

"Then, as a druid, you should sweep away all obstacles and turn the desert into a forest. Two hundred years ago, the forest under your feet was also a desert. It was because I killed the master of the desert, an adult sand dragon!"

"Only then could the desert be transformed into a forest!"

Atlan listened with excitement and couldn't help but nod. Transforming the entire desert into fertile farmland that could be planted was his next stage goal!

Wait a minute, something doesn't seem right?

This old geezer killed an adult sand dragon two hundred years ago?

Advancement is very happy, but I hope everyone will still come to support next Tuesday, Bi Xin, there will be an extra update on Tuesday!