Lord of the Oasis

The needlegrass meadow was quite lush.

The entire west side of the lake had been occupied by the stubborn vegetation that grows on the sandy land.

There were even quite a number gazelles that were on their own. They looked like they had stumbled upon a whole new world when they saw the grass between the dune in the distance. In a split second, they burrowed into the needlegrass meadow and disappeared within the acre of land.

It was obvious that these sand gazelles, in a panic and not knowing where to go, treated the needlegrass like a meadow within which they could hide from hunters.

“They’re so foolish it’s adorable.”

Kant shook his head and smiled helplessly at these little cuties.

If they were really treating the acre of needlegrass as a hideout that could save their lives, then they were like sheep walking towards a tiger, pointlessly offering up their tiny bodies for burial within.

But as Kant thought of this, an idea flashed through his mind.

He turned his head to look at Ma Nide and asked, “Can we tame them? ”

“The sand gazelles?” Ma Nide’s tone reflected his doubt.

“Yes. They look tameable.” Kant nodded.

Ma Nide hesitated, but he still shrugged and said, “My lord, although sand gazelles are indeed tameable, there is little value to taming them. Why don’t we just buy some sheep or goats to raise? The wool, sheepskin, mutton, and goat milk produced, they’re all much better than what we’ll get by simply taming these sand gazelles for food. ”

“Is that so?” Kant paused and smiled ruefully.

Ma Nide was right.

Sand gazelles were wild animals. Aside from the fact that they were difficult to domesticate, the value of domesticated gazelles on their own was not much.

This kind of gazelle that lived at the edge of the desert was not as valuable as goats and sheep. One could not gather wool from it, and it could not be milked to make cheese. Unless it was killed for meat or for its hide, either of which would be of a little value.

In short, they made for good prey, and there was no need to tame it.

“It’s a new week, let’s get moving. ”

Kant clapped his hands and signaled for the soldiers gathered at the street corner to disperse.

But as he looked at the sand gazelles that they had brought over and piled up beside where they stored their spices, Kant still instructed, “Skin them. We’ll feast on the fresh meat today, and if we can’t, then we’ll let it dry into air-dried meat.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The soldiers behind nodded.

The soldiers surrounding the street dispersed and continued with their own matters, allowing Drondheim to resume its work.

At the dune, another batch of sand gazelles arrived.

However, it was a relatively small batch this time. There were only about 500 of them, which could be considered a small herd of gazelles.

Kant did not order the hunt either.

Right now, Drondheim had no lack of food. In total, there were only about 100 people. Even if there was an unlimited supply of food, they could eat until they were full every meal. The bread, dried meat, flour, and other reserve foods that they currently had could feed them for a month.

Moreover, at the end of every month, there would be new sand gazelles arriving.

Kant did the math. “If this is how it is, then we should get around to forming a trade caravan as soon as possible. ”

Forming a trade caravan was one of Kant’s current strategic goals.

It was obviously irrational to spend precious Denar and rely on system merchants to purchase certain materials.

After all, relying on a country like the Dukedom of Leo that was rich in resources was better. Some of the higher-priced food and tools sold by system merchants, for example, were extremely cheap in the markets of the Dukedom of Leo.

Here was the most typical example of all.

The system merchants sold tools, such as axes and hoes, for a total of 100 Denar.

This amount of money was almost on par with how much it cost for a Swadian Knight to level up, which was 120 Denar. One would only have to think about it briefly to realize that this was not cost-effective at all, and that it was better to spend a few silver coins to buy a dozen or so tools.

As for a precious trade item like table salt, there was no issue in exchanging one bag of it for hundreds of tools.

Kant was thinking.

The system dialog box appeared on his retina.

Ding! A new week has begun, following the sunrise.

Income: You have collected 0 Denar(s) worth of taxes in Drondheim (village).

Expenditure: You have paid 2,186 Denar(s) of wages to the entire army.

Summary of finances: Currently, there are no civilian, merchant, or factory taxes imposed in Drondheim. There is no income. The main expenditures were: 369 Swadian footmen, 1472 Swadian heavy cavalry, 145 Denar for Sarrandian Horsemen, 100 Denar for Firentis, and 100 Denar for Ma Nide.

This was the financial report that appeared early Monday morning.

Kant glanced at the numbers on it and his expression was calm.

He had long been mentally prepared for this.

Drondheim was currently relying solely on the help of the system, and this was how they had been able to hold on until now.

Moreover, the population had all been converted into soldiers for combat. The overall development model was also based on military priorities. If one wanted to build factories and carry out commercial activities, at the very least, they would have to wait for Drondheim to develop further.

Just like now, Drondheim could continue to level up.

“Remember, I still have a level up card.”

Kant did the math.

This was the reward from the mission that he had obtained after helping the system absorb the strange items.

Looking at the Golden Card floating in his mind, Kant’s mind contact system silently said, “Use.”

Ding! System prompt.

Unable to raise the level of the village. Please construct all buildings needed for the village to level up in time. The village can only level-up after construction is complete. Remark: Please base your consideration of the number of houses to be built upon the subsequent upgrade.

The system spat out a dialog box.

The golden card in his mind did not disappear. On the contrary, it was still floating in Kant’s mind.

Looking at the introduction, Kant frowned. “Build all the buildings needed for the village to level-up? ”

As Kant let himself think, a dialog box appeared on his retina again. It was the existing buildings in Drondheim, as well as the buildings that had yet been built and the construction pack.

Constructions available: Council Hall, House (6 buildings), Watchtower, Desert Bandits’ camp, grocery store, sugar mill, training ground.

Constructions available: House, City Wall, Mill, Well.

Construction Pack: Posthouse, Stone City Wall.

Kant understood.

“City wall, mill, and well? ”

He spoke softly, but his brows were slightly furrowed.

The reason why he did not build these three buildings was that they were currently useless in Drondheim. Even if they were built, it would only be a waste of time and Denar.

An introduction of the building popped up on his retina.

Mill: Agricultural Building. It can be divided into wind and hydraulic power. It can grind barley and other grains to produce flour. Construction takes 14 days, at a cost of 200 Denar.

City Wall: Military Building. Stones are piled up into half a meter and then surround the village. The purpose is to prevent poultry from running into the wild, not to defend against the enemy. Construction takes seven days, at a cost of 100 Denar.

Well: A civilian building built by digging the ground. There needs to be a water vein underground, otherwise the dug well will not produce water. Construction takes seven days, at a cost of 100 Denar.

Kant was still helpless.

His wheat field had not been harvested yet, so it was useless to build a mill so early.

The half-meter-high city wall could only stop the livestock from running into the wild.

As for the well..

Kant currently had spring water and lake water. This thing was practically useless, and he would only be wasting his energy if he constructed it.

Were they a village situated amidst the area ravaged by the tribe of Jackalans, Kant might have been able to build a well. But in the Oasis Lookout, one would have to be exceedingly naive to build a well in an area with abundant water.

“Hang on… ” But Kant was slightly stunned.

His mind was wandering as he looked at the posthouse of the construction pack. He suddenly had a bold idea.

The posthouse was the transit station between the Oasis Lookout and the Senwaya Range.

If the table salt trade started, Kant planned to build a posthouse midway and arrange for some soldiers and peasant to be stationed there to provide some services for the trade caravan between the two places.

This included fresh water and accommodation.

Kant’s previous idea was to use a water sack to transport the water, but now it seemed that it did not need to be so troublesome.

“System, build a posthouse. Can we build a well next to it?”

Kant’s thought communication system inquired.

“Yes.” The system’s answer was still straightforward. “As long as there is a water vein underground, we can build a well.”

“Okay.”

Kant nodded his head lightly, his eyes twinkling.

If that was the case, then the well was not that useless. If it was well-matched with the posthouse, it could definitely become the next village gathering point. It was also, to a certain extent, Kant’s bridgehead to the Dukedom of Leo, an observation outpost.