Chapter 110: Bandits

As Yang Ling looked at the bustling Wissen Town and watched the excited townspeople cheering loudly in the night, he was overcome with emotion.

In the eyes of others, he was a great noble that was born into a noble family; he was a Summoner whose abilities were deep beyond comprehension. In this world, only he knew the truth!

If not for the mysterious Wizard’s Pagoda, he might still be sprawled in front of his second-hand computer playing World of Warcraft. If not for the mysterious Wizard Techniques, he might have been torn into pieces by the Magical Beasts in the forest. If not for his Magical Beast army, he might not even have been able to fill his stomach in this world, much less become a leader!

The Wizard Techniques were the basis for his survival, the Magical Beasts were his means of development, and keeping a low profile was the smartest thing to do!

Argus, Goode, and the rest were extremely excited, but they did not let the excitement overcome them.

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, flaunting their status without having sufficient abilities would just make them die sooner. Wissen Town was large, but compared to the massive empires around them, they were basically an ant beside an elephant. Their abilities were not worth mentioning.

It was hard to build an empire, but it was harder to hold an empire! Furthermore, he merely had a small bit of influence. The best choice for him was to develop his abilities while keeping a low profile amongst the various empires eyeing him.

Gaining control of Wissen Town was far from the mark of victory. It was still not time for him to lay back and enjoy himself; a new life was merely beginning!  ( NovelFull )

Seeing the people walking about excitedly, Yang Ling had a thought. He turned around and instructed Argus to gather Murbaqi, Goode, and the rest to discuss the plans to come.

Argus moved quickly. Soon, Yang Ling’s inner circle had rushed over. They all voiced their opinions after understanding Yang Ling’s intentions.

“Sir, even though we have scattered the reinforcements of the Banto Empire and successfully seized control of Wissen Town, our strength is still far from sufficient. Not even talking about anything else, we will need an army of at least two thousand men to permanently defend the Aila Mountain Pass!” said Casey.

After having returned rapidly from the Aila Mountain Pass, Casey was a little worried. After Yang Ling had removed his Magical Beast army, the defenses at the Aila Mountain Pass instantly became empty. The intentions of the Banto Empire were still unclear. If they sent a large army to launch a surprise attack, the eight hundred soldiers at the Aila Mountain Pass wouldn’t even be enough to put up a fight.

“Impossible! As we are now, even maintaining an army of a thousand people is enough of a strain. How are we going to come up with enough crystal coins to hire a large number of soldiers once again?” the old butler Murbaqi opposed loudly.

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He had been troubled recently. He had needed to hire even more manpower after Wissen Castle became the leader’s abode, and the crystal coins had been flowing out like water. The accounts were very low. If they once again recruited a large number of soldiers, with their losses outweighing their profits as they were now, they might indeed become bankrupt someday.

“Goode, what are your views?” Yang Ling’s expression did not change as he turned to look at Goode, who seemed to be deep in thought.

After a moment’s deliberation, Goode said, “Sir, our daily expenses are indeed too high. We have to think of ways to develop and sell resources such as timber and minerals. The sooner the better!”

“That’s right. Yang Ling, we have to develop the resources in Terras Forest as soon as possible. In that regard, the Boulade Merchant’s Association can provide you with a large amount of assistance and support!”

Harribell agreed greatly with Goode’s suggestion. Terras Forest was rich in resources, and if she could monopolize the buying and selling of these resources, the Boulade Merchant’s Association she controlled would definitely be able to procure a huge amount of crystal coins. One low level Magical Beast Essence Crystal might only cost a hundred Purple Crystal Coins in Wissen Town, but it was worth at least a thousand Purple Crystal Coins when shipped back to the Alliance. Profit was guaranteed.

Taking a sip of the jasmine tea Alice brought him, Yang Ling slipped into deep thought. At this point in time, he needed to recruit warriors to hold the Aila Mountain Pass, he needed to build a sturdy fortress, and he also needed to develop the various resources in Terras Forest. But without adequate manpower, all this was only empty talk.

Startup capital was important in determining if an economy could be developed quickly, but a steady supply of cheap labor was also necessary. At the end of the 1980s, the economies of China’s coastal cities would never have developed so rapidly without the steady supply of cheap labor in the form of farmers who came from the north to work. If China hadn’t possessed a population surplus at the end of the twentieth century, their reforms would have been fraught with difficulties.

“We need to do a large scale development of the resources in Terras Forest, and to do so we need a large number of crystal coins, but what we need more is a large amount of manpower!” After a pause, Yang Ling continued, “Without enough manpower, who’s going to excavate the mines for us? Without enough manpower, who’s going to hunt and gather wood for us?”

After a moment’s deliberation, the people all agreed with Yang Ling’s point. Without enough manpower, there was no way that they could develop the resources in Terras Forest on a large scale. But Wissen Town was far away and remote. How were they going to get a large number of young, strong people in such a short span of time?

“Even though Wissen Town is rich in resources, it’s quite remote. Furthermore, the route here is laced with aboriginal tribes that are like bandits. Who would be willing to spend that much effort traversing the mountains to live here if they didn’t have to?”

After shaking his head, Goode sighed in frustration, inviting the agreement of everyone else. Wissen Town was originally a wasteland, with only a ridiculously large ancient castle. It only slowly became a small town when vagrants trying to avoid natural disasters fled into the area. Without a large scale war or natural disaster, who would willingly travel the distance to live here?

The group was dejected, unable to find a solution, but Yang Ling had a thought after hearing Goode’s unintentional reminder. He came up with an idea to kill three birds with one stone.

Whether a person was traveling to Wissen from the Banto Empire or the Livenza Alliance, the roads were plagued by aboriginal tribes. Many of these aborigines were cruel by nature and made their living by robbing others. The chaotic situation had severely threatened the merchant teams attempting to make their way through the area. This was also one of the reasons why Wissen Town hadn’t been developed, despite the rich resources.

Destroying the aboriginal nests would not only clear the threat for the merchant teams and boost the development of Wissen Town, it would also allow them to obtain a large number of slaves as workers. Perhaps he might even be able to search out a decent amount of crystal coins or specialty items that were worth some money. It was three birds with one stone.

No matter how you looked at it, sending his troops to clear the bandit-like aboriginal tribes from the roads was definitely something worth doing. Given his current lack of manpower, Yang Ling would definitely not pass up this opportunity.