EFB Chapter 99 Transforming the Hills
Chapter 99 Transforming the Hills
Chapter 99 Transforming the Hills
These 173 people are full-time professional soldiers and will be the main force of the territory's field army.
The second echelon consisted of militia members, totaling over three hundred people.
The largest group consists of reserve militia, numbering nearly five hundred. Most of the reserve militia are older and are used as laborers most of the time. However, since there are few men in the territory, they often have to fill in for the militia.
The three teams together numbered nearly a thousand people, accounting for more than half of all the men in the territory.
This is why the heavy work, land reclamation, and transportation in the territory all rely on the women's teams.
Dylan ran three laps without even breaking a sweat.
Sok glanced at him and wrote his name on the whiteboard.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be doing morning exercises with the militia."
Dylan clenched his fists, said nothing, but couldn't suppress the urge to smile.
He knew very well that if he trained with the militia every day, he could earn at least eight work points, and if he performed well, he could earn ten.
Most importantly, every so often, the Knight Guard would come to select outstanding young men to try out at the Knight Training Camp. If they were truly talented, they would become knight apprentices; if they were not, they would be sent to the City Guard for further training.
For Dylan, this was an opportunity for upward mobility, so how could he not seize it?
"Big brother!"
'
During training, a familiar voice rang out, interrupting Sock's thoughts.
The visitor was Nina, a female worker at the bread factory.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Sok instinctively frowned: "Nina, what are you doing outside the city?"
Nina saw her older brother's stern face and immediately became unhappy. She pouted and said, "I came with the workshop to deliver bread and also to see you, brother. It seems you're not very welcoming! I'll take back the things Mother asked me to bring."
Upon hearing this, Sok shook his head helplessly.
Since the family moved to Ashwood Territory, his sister has become increasingly mischievous and often teases him.
"Hehe!" Nina quickly found a package on the oxcart and handed it to Sok. Then, she and the other female workers from the bakery helped carry the black bread into the Tulou.
Dylan stared at the lively and cheerful Nina, frozen in place for a long time.
Having come from a serf background, he rarely saw such a clean girl. After all, serfs didn't have much time to dress themselves up, especially in places where water resources were scarce. Taking a bath was a luxury for serfs.
Dylan stared at Nina's back for a long time, and even after Nina walked out of the side door of the earthen building, he still hadn't looked away.
Sok's face darkened, and he tapped him on the shoulder with the barrel of his gun: "Newbie, where are you looking?"
This rebuke immediately interrupted Dylan's thoughts, and Nina left with a smile on her face.
She was just a factory worker in a bakery, and she needed to work. When she saw this scene, she couldn't help but laugh and turned back to work.
Water resources in the territory are also very scarce, and the amount of drinking water available each day is limited. However, the female workers in their bakery are different. This is a requirement of the lord: anyone engaged in food work must always maintain cleanliness.
In addition, with the bread factory staff working, there was always extra bread crumbs to distribute. Over time, the female workers in the bread factory became a unique sight in the area.
Cleanliness, tidiness, and a full stomach all contribute to a better overall mental state than most women, especially since Mrs. Moriel occasionally trains them in etiquette, making them even more outstanding.
Placed among a group of ragged, emaciated refugee women, they appeared as clean as people from another world.
Dylan quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at Nina.
But he had already made up his mind that he would work hard to become a qualified militiaman, no, a city defense soldier.
"That way, I might be able to express my love to the guard captain's sister."
Ron did not go to see the refugees entering the city.
With Mrs. Moriel around, he doesn't need to worry about these things.
He stood on the hill, his gaze fixed on the land where a castle was about to be erected.
The hill is not high, only about twenty meters high, but you can overlook the entire western district from here. However, the whole hill is a gentle slope, so it is not too difficult to climb up.
Ron withdrew his gaze, having already made up his mind.
Old Hall stood to the side, holding the castle's design drawings in his hand. They weren't drawn by Ron; they were drawn by Old Hall from memory based on the original Ashwood Castle.
Ron glanced at the blueprints, drew a few circles in several places with a charcoal pencil, and then began his civil engineering work.
He had to admit that the Ashwood family, as the premier architectural mage family in the southern part of the kingdom, was quite remarkable; at least in terms of architectural aesthetics, there was nothing to criticize.
However, he did not plan to build a castle for the time being. Instead, he planned to transform the entire hill: the interior of the hill would remain as it was, while the outer slopes would be leveled by continuously piling sand and soil onto the hill through earthworks. Then, city walls would be built around the perimeter to gradually enclose the outer area.
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Because of the hills, the city walls could be built very high, except for the foundation.
After a whole day, Ron finally cleared the gentle slope of the hill and transformed it into the cliff of the castle, reducing the original hill to a quarter of its original size.
What was once a gentle slope from flat ground leading up to the hill has now been eroded into a near-vertical earthen cliff.
The cliff face was compacted with earth and wood, and the surface has a dark yellow color characteristic of rammed earth. Looking up from the bottom, it looks like the base of a natural fortress.
Old Hall, seeing the drastically changed hills before him, especially the nearly 15-meter-high cliff walls, believed that no enemy would be foolish enough to choose to attack this place!
"Young Master, after you advanced to a formal Architect Mage, your efficiency in civil engineering work has increased dramatically. If a normal Architect Mage were to do this, it would take at least thirty or forty formal Architect Mages to complete the project."
Ron waved his hand, looking at the hill whose terrain had been altered.
"We're still far from finished. The terrain has been altered and the foundation has been dug. The real work will begin tomorrow."
Old Hall naturally understood what Ron meant.
The first layer of walls outside the castle foundation must be built with large stone blocks, while the upper layers can be built with blue bricks. This ensures the strength of the castle walls and allows the castle to be built higher.
Old Hall had already seen the towers in Harvest Town and had grasped the methods of building high-rise buildings.
On their way back to their territory, the two happened to see three newly built earthen buildings bustling with activity.
Old Hall quickly took a document from Leonardo da Vinci: "Young master, of the refugees who joined this time, there are a total of 678 people. Of those who arrived alive, 652 are men and 131 are women. The women's average age is no more than 25."
The older women probably won't make it this far; Rem's wife, Aisha, is the oldest woman in the group.
Ron asked, "Are there any problems with the resettlement?"
Old Hall had just replied, "No, everything is going according to plan."
Then I saw a strange figure standing outside the city gate.
It was Gavin, the mercenary leader who had escorted the refugees.
"Gavin?" Ron recognized the mercenary leader. "He's still here?"
Old Hall said in a low voice, "The escort mission is complete. He's staying behind; he probably has something to discuss."