Chapter 255 - Volume 3
Chapter 34 – Expansion (15)
Schafflund’s source of silver came from the base of Graham’s mountains which contained an enormous amount of silver ore. The mine vein extended towards Karanjar’s mountains and the Dark Forest.
Schafflund’s silver mine was just a small portion of what the Dark Forest had to offer, but it still allowed Aouine to benefit greatly.
“Amandina, tell me what you know about Schafflund,” Brendel said.
The young noble girl’s eyes brightened up slightly, and she immediately answered: “Schafflund is the most important source of income in Trentheim since its beginning. During the Year of Dwelling Beasts, the previous Lord Trentheim built a fortress to harvest and transport silver, but it slowly formed into the town that we know of today.”
“Year of the Dwelling Beasts,” Brendel recalled in his mind, “that’s thirty years ago?”
Amandina nodded and said:
“The highest ranking officers there are comprised of an adjutant and secretary officer. Neither of them answers to Graudin but directly to Count Randner, and this is why Graudin is unable to take much of it, despite the silver mine producing nearly fifteen tons of silver every year. Also, the creatures in the Dark Forest make it impossible to extend the harvesting area of silver ore, and Trentheim continues to remain poor.”
Brendel knew that she would be shocked, but it was a necessary plan for him. If princess Gryphine refused to enter an arranged marriage with Lord Arreck, then this rewritten history meant that the Royal Faction’s armies would lose in battle once the northern lords and crown prince’s coalition army fought them.
When that happened, he hoped the newly rebuilt Firburh would become the final bastion of defense against their terrible might. It would preserve Aouine’s southern territory, especially Valhalla, which was his trump card to tilt the chessboard.
Firburh’s position was also an excellent spot. It faced the sea in the west, and had a silver mine in the east, and was a natural commercial hub between the rest of Trentheim and Valhalla.
[Aouine’s future capital for me has to be Valhalla. Firburh needs to become an impregnable fortress to defend it, but this spot isn’t going to work. I already instructed Tagiv and his men to find a suitable place somewhere in the north and make sure there’s enough space and geographical suitability for defense and offense. The north of River Gris is hills that have gentle angled slopes, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find somewhere suitable.]
These creatures were not used to attacking cities, but they were brilliant city builders in the Jurgen Underworld.
He stopped his thoughts when he saw Amandina’s confused expressions: “There’s no need to be shocked. This matter cannot be done within a day or two. We have one or two more years so we can make this a long-term project.”
It was a little challenging to build a complete fortress with all the facilities of a town in a year or two, but the basic necessities could be set up. Naturally, this building speed was only possible with magic, unlike Earth.
“What do I need to do?” Amandina inhaled deeply when she saw that Brendel was serious. It was not a small project to build a city, and the amount of knowledge to build one was just too much. It was the first time that she felt she was not going to be able to do a good job.
“It’s not a hard problem. You can just take a look around this city and think back on what you saw in Bruglas. Ponder on how the past architects build the cities and think about what we need.”
Brendel once again emphasized that the New Firburh had to be a fortress.
“Ciel will also aid you in this matter. Even though he’s a wizard by profession, I’m sure that he has studied widely in many areas and shouldn’t be a problem for him when it comes to simple planning.”
“Ciel will help me?”
Brendel nodded. “…… Of course, if there are any noteworthy craftsmen good in building structures, you can recruit them.”
He did not have much confidence in his words. The famous city builders did not really exist in this era, and even if they did, they would not gather in this impoverished city. This was not some fictional novel, and Bosley was already an exception.
[The more I talk about this, the more ridiculous it sounds. This world isn’t a game where I can just spend unlimited resources, and let the system go ‘ka-ching’ and build an entire ready-made fortress in the middle of a forest. We’re building a real-life fortress after all……]