Chapter 146: Hot Spring Resort

The Solovy Knights’ domain held external advantages that the Riverbend territory lacked. It lay adjacent to the Western Outpost, separated only by a small forest spanning a few miles.

At present, the commanding officer of the Western Outpost was the distant elder brother-in-law of Romon, who was also the distant nephew-in-law of the Solovy Knights. Facing a young, formidable, and promising Windstorm Knight, it was only natural that the traditionally stern and rigid Noise Knights would be willing to acknowledge this kinship.

Although the land to the west was also called the Wilderness, it was traversed by the World Tree Avenue, offering more signs of civilization than the Wolf-Drive Plains. Therefore, the safety of the Solovy Knights’ domain was more assured than that of Riverbend.

This domain was closer to Eisenbor, only sixty miles away, connected entirely by the flat World Tree Avenue, whereas Riverbend had an additional thirty miles of muddy roads. Moreover, the reputation of the Windstorm Knight Solovy held a fatal allure for Eisenbor’s noble ladies.

Born into an old, distinguished knightly family, young and unmarried Solovy would draw half the noble maidens from Eisenbor to any banquet he hosted. If he held a banquet alongside his equally unmarried nephew Romon, it would be even more extraordinary—noble ladies and noblewomen alike would not want to miss such an event.

Riverbend could not offer such conditions. Though its scenery was more serene and beautiful—with the great Anzeno River waterfall hanging on the horizon and tranquil lakes perfect for boating, and endless pine forests of the Wolf-Drive Plains visible through the windows—it was deep within the wilderness and lacked security. Its lord was a rough pioneer knight, without even a formal title.

Without power, influence, or renown, he attracted no noble attention—except for opportunists coveting the Riverbank domain. Some declining noble families were even willing to marry their daughters to Uriyan.

Leo and the Solovy Knight explored several valleys behind the Solovy Knights’ domain and found a gently sloping, picturesque hot spring valley, deciding it as the site for constructing a hot spring manor.

It was only five miles from the Solovy Knights’ village, with no treacherous terrain in between, allowing for the relatively easy construction of a road suitable for horse-drawn carriages.

To become a place where nobles would gladly host banquets and spend leisure time, the estate could not be too simple. Even if they did not build a castle, it needed at least the appearance of a noble manor.

However, constructing a noble manor required far greater investment than digging canals or repairing roads. The Solovy Knight dared not commit immediately and had to consult Rigoralf first.

Leo suggested that Riverbend could provide some qualified craftsmen to participate in construction and hoped the Solovy Knight would recruit as many refugees as possible, using labor as relief and leveraging the current cheap workforce to build the manor.

Collective labor by these refugees would foster a sense of belonging, and the best among them could be retained as permanent subjects.

After the orc wars ended and the refugees dispersed, Eisenbor would revert to a stable agricultural environment, making it harder to absorb a large population.

The three brothers of the Petukhov family agreed to Leo’s proposal after discussion.

None of the Petukhov family’s four knightly domains had a proper noble manor; even the family head Rigoralf’s domain only had a traditional lord’s house.

They held banquets only at small estates purchased on the outskirts of Eisenbor city.

In some respects, owning a grand and luxurious noble manor was also a symbol of status and a demonstration of family strength.

Each of the Petukhov family’s four knightly domains, as well as Riverbend, would send ten mature craftsmen and recruit five hundred young and able-bodied refugees to build the hot spring manor.

Besides providing ten mature craftsmen led by Valeri, Riverbend also sent a large number of apprentice craftsmen, even a few dog-headed artificers.

During this period, Riverbend’s infrastructure projects were completed one after another. Labor was always needed, but craftsmen became surplus.

It was a pity to have cultivated craftsmen return to farming or hunting.

It was better for them to go out, exchange knowledge, and broaden their horizons.

Helping with construction was genuine, but so was learning new skills.

Riverbend’s own craftsmen were all self-trained farmers, with almost no mature systems or complete traditions.

The later-absorbed refugee craftsmen were far from the dwarven forging masters or gnome engineers Leo had imagined.

Any master craftsman with a tradition was a high-end talent in any domain or workshop.

Even noble descendants who became refugees rarely fell to the lowest ranks.

Valeri’s craftsmen were talented but lacked systematic education; all civil engineering knowledge was learned through practice. Leading the construction of a lord’s house was already his limit.

Though Riverbend’s lord’s house was more spacious than others, its structure was imperfect. If not for Master Bobak reinforcing it, it would surely face various problems in the future, requiring Valeri to renovate and maintain.

Constructing larger buildings was not impossible, but guaranteeing they would not collapse was another matter.

Valeri was already outstanding and gifted.

Ordinary villagers could not even build proper wooden houses. Without supervision and guidance, they had to live in shanties.

After the comprehensive decline of the Orantis Empire, the Northern Territories’ technological level had regressed to roughly that of medieval Western Europe.

Most domains’ castles were rammed earth with stone and timber structures. True stone castles belonged only to great lords or those with abundant stone and manpower resources.

On the one hand, materials and manpower were limited; on the other, technical skills were insufficient.

Without reinforced concrete, the North could not build magnificent stone castles. Besides wealth, such endeavors required master architects well-versed in construction.

Participation in such large projects allowed both veteran craftsmen and apprentices to gain substantial knowledge through practice.

Many architectural techniques were unfamiliar to them; how could they master what they had never seen?

After returning to Riverbend, Leo entrusted ten gold souler coins to the Solovy Knight to deliver to Phisa.

This was the payment for twenty golden retriever scouts.

Twenty golden retrievers had roamed the Solovy Knights’ domain, well-fed and cared for, with five running off.

In three days, they earned one hundred thousand!

Leo even considered launching a mining exploration business, marketing the dog-headed miner teams to all noble lords of Eisenbor.

But not all nobles shared the Solovy Knight’s generosity and integrity. Once these trained dogs’ value was recognized, they would likely be imprisoned and enslaved, with a generous compensation of ten silver coins paid to the Riverbend domain.

This was twice the highest price for dog-headed slaves on the slave market!

Holding the glittering gold in her hands, Phisa doubted their value.

She thought it would be better to receive a few sacks of wheat!

Dog-headed beings were naturally attracted to shiny objects, but to Phisa, these were luxuries, far less useful than iron ingots or grain—neither edible nor weaponizable.

When grain was plentiful, it could be traded with other dog-headed tribes.

When grain was scarce and the wilderness unstable, these shiny things were worthless.

Although Leo tried to explain human monetary systems to Phisa, she remained skeptical and handed the coins to Olivia, asking her to convert them into equivalent grain and tools.

While the construction of the Solovy Knights’ domain proceeded in full swing, new news arrived from Eisenbor.

Sir Talric Froyelov, the great lord of Eisenbor, faced with increasingly severe security issues, decided to heed his vassal ministers’ advice and expel Eisenbor’s refugees, driving them into the wilderness!