The following day, Velin slept until the sun had climbed high in the sky. After consuming the meal brought by his servants, he could scarcely wait to seek out Brian and Alik to discuss purchasing supplies.
Before doing so, however, Velin had a Red-scaled horse led to him, intending it as a gift for Baron Alik to foster goodwill.
This would make seeking his assistance in future matters considerably easier.
At that very moment, Brian and Alik sat facing each other in the castle study.
"Alik, what do you make of Velin?"
"Hard to say. One evening's acquaintance isn't enough to judge him," Alik replied after several minutes of thought, finally shaking his head.
"You can't tell? My cousin is truly exceptional—deeply devoted to family, though a tad lazy. After six years apart, he arrives and presents me with a set of exceptional knight's full plate armour worth twelve thousand gold pieces. But now I'm troubled—how do you think I should reciprocate?" At this, Brian's eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at Alik.
"Well, reciprocating is simple enough. I noticed the men he brought lack protective armour. You could offer a hundred sets of leather armour as your return gift." Alik pressed his hand to his forehead, gazing at this simpleton with resigned exasperation.
"Ha ha ha! You're the clever one, as ever. Inviting you back to redesign our domain's village layout was indeed a wise decision."
Brian roared with laughter, his voice brimming with excitement.
"My lord! Lord Velin requests your presence at the training grounds, along with Lord Alik."
Suddenly, the steward's voice echoed from beyond the door, halting Brian's laughter.
"Right, let's see what Velin wants with us."
Brian rose first and headed for the doorway.
Alik followed closely behind, making his way to the training grounds. In his estimation, Velin summoning him meant a gift was likely forthcoming. He began mentally calculating how to reciprocate appropriately.
At the training grounds, Velin observed their arrival and approached Alik. "What do you make of this horse?" he asked.
"Well-fed and sturdy, with a hint of red dragon blood. Great potential for growth. On the market, it'd fetch twenty thousand gold coins." Alik gave a fair assessment based on the horse's appearance.
"Cousin, you have excellent taste. This is my gift to you. I hope you like it."
Alik replied calmly, "Since it's from you, I shall accept it. In return, I offer you sixty cartloads of grain, a batch of iron farming tools, and a detailed map of Goldenrock in the northwest of Grimfang Plains."
Velin froze upon hearing this. How could he know he'd chosen Goldenrock as his expansion target? Meeting Alik's amused gaze, he inwardly marvelled before replying with a smile: "My thanks."
Meanwhile, Brian seized the moment and said with a grin, "Velin, I've nothing splendid to offer. My domain's rich in iron ore, so I'll give you twenty sets of iron armour, one hundred and fifty sets of leather armour, and a hundred iron swords as my return gift. I hope you won't find it too shabby."
"Many thanks, cousin."
Unsurprisingly, Alik once again looked at this generous fool, at a loss for words.
Brian paid no heed to his gaze. Seeing his kin content brought him genuine satisfaction.
That very afternoon, Brian delivered twenty sets of iron armour, one hundred and fifty sets of leather armour, and one hundred iron swords into Velin's hands.
At a camp outside the castle, Velin picked up an iron sword and swung it several times at a wooden stake, finding the blade to be of excellent quality.
He then inspected the iron and leather armour, both of which were fine examples of common grade equipment.
By Carod Province market standards, these items were worth fifteen thousand gold coins. In times of war, they could fetch as much as thirty thousand gold coins.
"My lord, with this armament, our initial expansion efforts will proceed far more smoothly," declared Baird, captain of the knightly guard, his eyes fixed on the weapons as he spoke with palpable excitement.
"The training of these two hundred men now falls to you. I expect them to prove far more effective in actual combat."
"My lord, rest assured."
Baird's face lit up with excitement as he led several knights out of the castle. They headed to the camp outside the city to assemble the serfs, eager to commence training immediately.
With nothing pressing to attend to, Velin returned to his quarters. He unfolded the map of Goldenrock in the northwest of Grimfang Plains, a gift from Alik, and studied it carefully, contemplating the optimal region for settlement.
As for the sixty cartloads of grain and the batch of farming tools promised by Alik, they were to be delivered to Brian's castle within a fortnight.
Therefore, Velin resolved to shamelessly freeload at Brian's castle, ensuring he was fully prepared.
Goldenrock in the northwest of the Grimfang Plains spanned a total area of six hundred thousand square kilometres—equivalent to four Carod Provinces. A major river, the Stonebreaker, flowed from southeast to northwest, vanishing into the unknown distance.
The land grows increasingly fertile closer to the river's banks, though correspondingly teeming with more monsters.
Away from the river's reach, the soil is comparatively barren, yet still suitable for cultivating grain, albeit with low yields. Wheat, for instance, yields approximately 150 kilograms per acre.
An adult consuming solely wheat would require roughly 200 kilograms annually.
However, as most inhabitants of this world are bonded serfs with no freedom, survival beyond starvation suffices. Theoretically, the wheat harvested from one acre, supplemented by wild greens and similar forage, would adequately sustain a productive serf.
"No, that notion is too wicked. I possess moral principles. If I overstep, how could I maintain my standing within the family?"
Velin shook his head, banishing the notion from his mind.
He then turned his attention back to Goldenrock's monster distribution zones, still following the riverine layout.
Near the main channel of the Stonebreaker River resided relatively powerful monster clans—Ogre, Gnoll, and Minotaur tribes held sway here.
The tributaries, however, were occupied by weaker creatures like goblins and other minor monsters.
The good news was that Goldenrock had almost no truly formidable monsters. The strongest clan chieftain here was merely Gold-tier.
As long as he didn't court death by venturing directly into the Stonebreaker River basin to establish territory, safety wouldn't be an issue.
The downside is the barren environment, resulting in an extremely poor magical energy field. Cultivation here is arduous and requires magical crystals for augmentation.
He then examined the southern region of Goldenrock, specifically a place called Tokshik. Located two hundred kilometres away in a straight line, it spans over a thousand square kilometres. Surrounded only by monster clans like goblins, with the strongest monsters barely reaching high-tier bronze, it proved highly suitable for his expansion.
Having settled on his direction, Velin approached the table, retrieved a sheet of parchment, and began cataloguing his current assets.
One wise lord, two underage guardian knights, twelve high-tier bronze knights, two hundred serfs undergoing training, and fifty-five bandit slaves.
Eighty-one thousand two hundred gold coins, nine mid-tier magic crystals, and one hundred and twenty low-tier magic crystals.
Seventeen red-scaled horses, five sets of exceptional knight's full plate armour, six exceptional knight's longswords.
Twenty sets of iron armour, one hundred and fifty sets of leather armour, one hundred iron swords, plus sixty cartloads of grain and a batch of farming tools yet to be delivered.
The above constituted the entirety of Velin's current holdings.
These resources would suffice to cover the initial expenditures of developing his domain.