Chapter 840: Matters of the Territory (13)
The development of the territory was progressing smoothly. With Ottos help, those who opposed me were whipped into shape. The remaining nobles were too busy cowering in a corner to mount any meaningful resistance Those that actually wanted to, anyway.
Naturally, those who showed their support for me, and were basically clean, were all treated well.
Six months had passed since I came to Kesek. The defeated soldiers had mostly been sent back to Ertalon, meaning the human plague on the north was about to be over as well.
Correspondingly, there were now stirrings amongst some of the refugees; several groups of them were starting to long for their hometowns.
At the end of the day, it was impossible for Kesek to simply resettle a million refugees in such a short period of time. Even if we phrased this as an opportunity to break new grounds for them, it was inevitable that some would still long for their old homes.
Soon, the flow of refugees turned. Those who couldnt settle into Kesek left the province, numbering roughly 300,000 by my estimates.
The production facilities for the second generation magitek knights were completed two months prior. The requisite psychic engravings were also fully developed not long after. Tests were completed just a week ago.
The results were quite impressive, even if the five-star mesmer we hired to conduct the tests were nowhere near that overlord mesmer. Mesmers were a rare bunch to begin with, so finding a more powerful mesmer wasnt likely. With how hard it was to survive as a mesmer, I wouldnt be surprised if the entire kingdom did not possess a single mesmer above seven-stars.
Throughout this entire period, Meister Amori labored tirelessly, toiling away like a mechanical golem. In fact, the only reason he hadnt stayed in his workplace was because the production facilities just werent ready. When the lab and the factory were finished, he promptly moved in.
As the meisters good friend, Meister Belud had to give it his all as well.
It was only through the dogged efforts of these two that the new generation was born a mere month after the facilities were complete.
Other than completing the psychic defense engravings, they also added in the floating bits. On top of that, there were talks of how to reduce the weight of the magitek knights, so as to boost its speed further. Because of the holistic nature of this upgrade, we ended up spending a lot more effort than initially intended. So hard was the question of how do we lighten the outer frame without impacting its durability? that even beer became tasteless for the old dwarven meister.
I lifted the window blinds and peered outside. Snowflakes drifted gently through the air, their arrival a herald for the coming winter. Beautiful, and yet lethal at the same time.
The city was dyed white from the snow. The streets were sparsely populated, and those who were outside were all decked out in the thickest winter clothes they could muster.
Our carriage was headed for the outskirts of the city. Simply put, I wished to see how they were faring.
Half a year ago, the flood of refugees into Kesek increased our population by at least 300,000.
The conditions were dire then, and had it not been for His Majestys aid, over half of them would have died of starvation.
As a countermeasure, I provided them with as much work as I could, encouraging them to seek new frontiers outside the city at the same time.
Now that six months had passed, the outskirts of the city was dotted with countless new villages.
My trip today was to see for myself how these new villages were faring.
You mean to hunt?
Hunt? Have you ever seen me go out hunting? Ever since I arrived in Kesek, my time had been devoted to these few activities: paperwork, magitek knights, and paperwork. Even on the off-chance that I was able to leave the estate, I would immediately be swarmed by the loving masses.
I merely wish to check on how the rest of my subjects are living outside of the city. Food, crime, etc.
Commander is there a need to go this far for the commoners? I do not understand