I Became the Progenitor Vampire - Chapter 350

Chapter 350: Chapter 352: Returning to Dawn, Starting a New Round of Farming (5400 words) Chapter 350: Chapter 352: Returning to Dawn, Starting a New Round of Farming (5400 words) PS: In the future, updates will be scheduled for one chapter in the evening and one at noon, totaling two chapters each day.

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Watching the Level 18 Half-Elf City Lord Collins leave the inn, Dylan gently closed the room’s door, turned around, and with some confusion, looked at Lide, who sat calmly at the round table.

“Your Highness, are we really going to cooperate with the Half-Elves to such a great extent?

But the power of this city simply cannot withstand our longswords. If you wish, within three Sunshine Hours, the flag of Dawn City could be raised over this city.

The weak do not have the right to bargain with the strong.”

Upon hearing this, Lide glanced at his Bloodline descendant with displeasure. “Have you become stupid from raising Magic Language Bats?”

Dylan was startled, then touched his nose somewhat awkwardly, “Your Highness, I…”

“After you go back, spend some time learning from Harrison. Improve your management skills and sense of the big picture,” Lide was not going to be polite with his own Bloodline. “You’ve been out of touch with the upper echelons for too long, and your perspective has fallen behind.

If you do not want to always raise Magic Language Bats and even risk losing the privilege to follow me onto the battlefield, you must strive to progress.

This world has always been unfair. If your talents are not as strong as others, you must put in even more effort.

Dylan, do not disappoint me.”

Undoubtedly, the smartest of the second-generation Bloodline were Harrison and Frey. Now, one was the Head of City Hall, and the other managed the trade between the Dwarven Hills and the Fishman Tribe, both capable figures in their own right.

Although Dylan was quite smart, he clearly fell short compared to the two and needed additional nurturing.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Dylan bowed his head in shame. He had indeed been busy raising Magic Language Bats in recent times and, having not stayed closely by Lide’s side, was somewhat unable to keep pace with the rapidly developing Dawn City.

The world has always been cruel and regrettable. If you do not move forward, no one will wait for you.

Lide’s expression eased slightly.

“Your doubts are not unfounded. Black Iron Castle does have considerable strength, but if we decide to conquer it, then conquer it we will.

But have you considered what comes after the conquest?

What is our purpose for seizing this city?

Is it to expand our territory? To plunder resources? Or for something else?”

Dylan’s face stiffened again, and he took a deep breath, immediately realizing how simplistic his previous thoughts had been.

“Your Highness, I understand now.”

“What do you understand?” Lide’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked directly at the second-generation Bloodline, almost like a teacher inquiring a student thoroughly.

Dylan responded respectfully.

“Your Highness, our purpose in coming to the Underground City is not to occupy the land, but to acquire more resources to promote the development of Dawn City.

Just like with the Dwarven Hills, as long as Black Iron Castle initially accepts Dawn City, it will be unable to resist the invasion of Dawn City’s strong productivity.

This city, ruled by Half-Elves, will eventually become a part of Dawn City under the subtle influence.”

Upon hearing this, Lide’s expression softened a bit.

“Mhm, you have not completely lost your ability to think.

But this is only one aspect. The role of Black Iron Castle is not merely that, and you will understand in time.

The cooperative projects that I just had you take note of, have you tallied them up?”

“Your Highness, I have tallied them up. Would you like me to report them again?”

“Repeat them.”

Upon receiving the command, Dylan picked up his notebook and began to recapitulate the terms of cooperation that Collins had discussed with Lide.

“First, the Half-Elves will send no fewer than 300 bow-maker artisans to Dawn City to establish a research institute focused on improving bows and other weapons and equipment, with shared results.

In return, Dawn City will send 50 Mages of Level 5 and above to Black Iron Castle to assist in training the Half-Elves in magic, promising to cultivate at least 200 official Mages within two years.

Second, a military mutual assistance plan, where Dawn City will send 2,000 human soldiers to Black Iron Castle. The Half-Elves will train them to become archers, with a training fee of 10 Gold Pucks per human soldier.

Dawn City will also send blacksmiths, tailors, doctors, and other professionals, totaling no fewer than 200 individuals to help Black Iron Castle’s Half-Elves train related talents.”

Third, trade and commerce cooperation, allowing both parties free access to each other’s cities for trading, and permitting the free flow of goods…

Fourth, allow the Dawn City to spread its missionary work in Black Iron Castle and recruit members of other races…

Fifth, mutual aid in offense and defense, in times of crisis, as long as it does not endanger themselves, they may protect each other in the form of hiring…

Sixth…

There were nearly twenty items in total, and Lide nodded in satisfaction after listening to Dylan’s summary.

“Send these terms back to Harrison immediately,” he said, then gave Dylan a meaningful look.

“Dylan, the appearance of the Half-Elves has provided us with an excellent opportunity, as Dawn City had never been entered by any other force.

Now under our control, it might significantly activate the potential of Dawn City if we safely introduce a portion of outsiders into the city.”

Speaking of this, there was a touch of emotion in Lide’s eyes.

“Dawn City currently operates under a planned economy, where what and how to produce are all controlled by us, the advantage of which is that we can control the city’s development.

The downside is also clear: a system like this yields goods with no competitiveness and no capacity for innovation.

Merchants are profit-driven, and once trade is opened up, there will always be those who seek to earn Gold Pucks from foreigners, which will directly promote the development of the city.”

Trade has a powerful promoting effect on both economy and society, as substantial profits incentivize merchants to improve production efficiency, enhance production technology, and innovate new products–which is why a market economy is the mainstream economic system on Earth.

Dawn City has always been in the era of a planned economy; previously, there was no choice but to operate this way, but now an opportunity has arisen, and naturally, Lide is willing to transition the market from a planned to a market economy in an orderly fashion.

Of course, the premise is that everything should be controlled by him, safe and secure.

Half-Elves are a perfect test case, these underground beings have not only lived in isolation but also have had no contact with the human world thus far.

He planned to open up part of the markets in Dawn City, letting these Half-Elves act like the sharpnose fish, to stimulate the development of the city.

As for whether it could achieve the effect he wanted, Lide was still confident.

Dawn City already had the foundation to develop a market economy and had long passed through the initial phase of dire shortage of materials.

Strategic planning never focuses solely on the present but looks at the future after each move.

“Dylan, in doing anything, never look only at the short-term gains and losses; it’s the future we need to plan for.

Whether it’s Black Iron Castle or the Underworld, in my view, they are nothing more than nutrients that fuel the growth of Dawn City.

When you stand outside the chessboard to strategize, you’ll find that the issues troubling you now will be swiftly solved.”

Lide’s patient guidance gave Dylan a sensation of sudden enlightenment.

He had not expected that what seemed at first glance to be a somewhat disadvantageous cooperation was, in fact, laden with such deep significance.

On the surface, it might seem like a loss, but beneath the surface, they had already reached another level of problem-solving, and the benefits to be gained from this were tenfold, a hundredfold more than the costs.

“Your Majesty, your wisdom is enough to astonish the Dark Goddess; the Holy Light Bloodline is great because of your existence!”

Lide glanced at him with mild annoyance–the flattery was a bit too strong.

“Alright, take some men and clear out the area that the Lord of Collins has allocated to us. From now on, all matters concerning Black Iron Castle and the entire Underworld will be your responsibility.”

“Your Majesty, this…” On hearing these words, Dylan felt his breathing become heavier.

A weight of responsibility settled upon him.

The entire Underworld under his charge–wasn’t this burden too heavy?

“Are you trying to say you can’t do it?”

Lide’s eyes narrowed, showing a hint of severity, “Frey could do it, what makes you think you can’t?

Dylan, to grow, you must face pressure; a knight who cannot grip his longsword and face Dragon Power will never become a Dragon Slayer.

To wear a crown, one must bear its weight.”

Dylan was shaken to his core, and his mindset underwent a drastic change. When he looked back at Lide, his eyes were filled with resolve.

“Your Majesty, I will guard the Underworld for you. No one will disrupt your plans unless they step over my dead body!”

His tone was firm and resolute, like a mountain.

Lide nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. As a father, he worried endlessly–if I weren’t your father, I would have sent you packing long ago.

After a moment, as if remembering something, Lide continued.

“Be sure to forbid those Half-Elves from discussing what happened in the swamp.”

He hadn’t forgotten the semi-mission reward–ensuring that more than five Half-Elves returned alive to the Underground City would earn him 10 points in Underworld Legend Level.

The problem now was that the six Half-Elves had already returned to Black Iron Castle, but the reward still hadn’t been issued, which had led Lide to other thoughts.

Legend Level might have been, as he had conjectured, something that needed to be spread around and trusted by others to be generated.

But to avoid any problems, he still planned to keep the Half-Elves under observation for a while.

He had already thought of many ingenious strategies that would definitely be quite interesting to implement when the time came.

“Yes, Your Highness, I have already dispatched these Half-Elves to act together with the Bloodline, who will oversee them.”

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December 2nd, Lide, riding on Castro, sped away from Black Iron Castle where he had stayed for a few days, the flapping wings leaving no trace in the air.

The second round of Underworld exploration had ended the moment Lide flew out of Black Iron Castle.

This journey through the Underworld, lasting over half a month, could definitely be called a bountiful harvest.

First were the two Giant Tribes–the Double-headed Ogre and the One-eyed Giant; the adults from these tribes had already exceeded 1800 in number, and with the young, the count had broken through the two thousand mark.

The emergence of these behemoths would be an epic change for Dawn City.

The city would never again lack for labor.

It could only be described as invincible.

The second achievement was his Level; his experience at Level 18 had maxed out, and he could level up to 19 at any moment.

Now, he was just one step away from becoming Transcendent.

The third point was establishing a cooperation with the Half-Elves, which was an experiment of his, as well as an extra arrangement for the Underworld,
using the catfish effect, he was treating the Half-Elves as catfish, to awaken the untapped potential of Dawn City; the results of this strategic planning might not be seen until much later.

When Lide returned to the Magic Crystal Vein, he made a detour to leave the ever-concealed Level 19 Divine Monster Asreaga there to continue overseeing the big picture, to guard against those two Extraordinary Spiders.

Then he took the opportunity to have Beastman King Kapp dispatch Magic Language Bats to transport all the giants within twenty kilometers of Black Iron Castle back to Grey Stone Castle to expedite the construction of the Magic Crystal Vein.

He had already reached a cooperation agreement with Black Iron Castle; these precautionary giants were no longer needed.

Farming and development would be the main theme moving forward.

When Lide reemerged in the skies above Dawn City via the Land of Bone-Burying, seeing the snowflakes drifting down from the sky gave him a surreal feeling, as if he were in another world.

Frost Month.

After staying in the gloomy Underworld for so long, suddenly seeing the light of the surface can indeed uplift one’s mood.

Looking around, Dawn City was now cloaked in white, with eaves, rooftops, and even chimneys covered in thick layers of snow.

Only the streets, constantly swept clean by people, remained as neat as ever.

Whoosh whoosh~
Castro, flapping its wings through the snowstorm, gently landed in the backyard of City Hall; noticing Lide’s return, Harrison waited until Castro had shrunken and settled on his shoulder before immediately stepping forward to greet him.

“Good day, Clan Leader.”

Lide nodded slightly, and upon seeing Harrison, he inexplicably felt a sense of warmth–a sentiment he hadn’t experienced before. The Underworld truly had a way of grinding down one’s spirit.

“Let’s go inside to talk.”

Stepping inside the City Hall building, Lide’s eyes brightened; the interior was as warm as spring, a stark contrast to the cold snow outside.

He glanced at Harrison with interest; it seemed that in the half month he had been away, the man had come up with quite a few ingenious inventions.

Ascending to the third floor and settling in the chair behind his desk, Lide took a comfortable breath.

“Harrison, are you certain there are no issues with Master Spark?”

The sudden news of the One-eyed Giant Tribe had compelled Lide to venture into the Underworld, and as a result, he hadn’t been able to deliver the Death Flower to Green City personally.

Although Harrison had reported information along the way, it was still not confirmed whether Spark had been cured.

“Clan Leader, after Miss Vena delivered the Death Flower to White Tower, we have received no further news, and we can’t determine whether Master Spark is safe now.”

Lide frowned, but said no more; as long as the other person stayed inside the Mage Tower without emerging, it was purely wishful thinking for outsiders to try and glean information.

His unreliable mentor was not easy to find fault with in this respect.

“Apart from this matter, how are the other projects progressing?”

He had been away for only half a month and although it wasn’t very long, for the rapidly evolving Dawn City, changes could occur not just in half a month, but even within three days.

Harrison was fully aware of all the progress and began to report in sequence.

“Clan Leader, all the infrastructure for the new district has finally been completed, just awaiting the arrival of new residents, and the construction department is already planning the third phase of construction.”

“The Ancient Alchemy Magic Array over the Magic Crystal Vein is under construction, but since we lack Advanced Mages proficient in magic arrays, the progress is still slow even though we’ve established the Magic Array Research Department. The completion time is unpredictable. If the Magic Array Research Department makes progress, the construction speed will increase. If there’s no progress, I’m afraid the construction period could span several years.”

These words made Lide’s brows furrow slightly. The Ancient Alchemy Magic Array of the Crimson Mage Tower had always been a project under Spark’s construction. He was completely unfamiliar with magic arrays, so he didn’t know how difficult it was.

But now it seemed that he had underestimated the difficulty of this magic array, which could allow him to integrate the Divine Country.

“This matter cannot be neglected. We can cultivate talent and research simultaneously. This magic array is irreplaceable for us.”

“Yes…”

“Continue.”

“Clan Leader, the population acquisition plan this time is completely orchestrated by Audis. It is expected to start in half a month, and the target population for this acquisition is tentatively set at 50,000.”

Acquisition?

Why does this sound like we are acting like bandits? We’re saving them…

Lide’s eyes showed a hint of contemplation. The population of Dawn City had already reached 100,000, a small city by human standards.

If another 50,000 people were acquired during the Frost Month this year, then Dawn City would undergo further expansion.

The city of Dawn, at last, was growing.

Thinking of this, Lide’s eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction. This city, built from nothing by his hand, contained all his emotions.

Speaking of the population, Lide remembered something even more important–the Bloodline would soon be able to perform the first embrace.

Every Dawn Festival, on December 30th, is the time for the Bloodline’s first embrace. Now it was December 2nd, less than a month away.

He had established the Dawn Festival as the time for all Bloodline to perform the first embrace, so now, every Dawn Festival is the time when the Bloodline’s first embrace cooldown is completed.

It was a momentous occasion.

The annual first embrace was the most critical way for the Bloodline to rapidly bolster their forces.

Although other races’ armies were making up a higher proportion in Dawn City, the Bloodline was his foundation.

Moreover, the Bloodline had the highest potential among all races in Dawn City. Given a few more years, an army of Bloodline numbering over ten thousand would emerge.

Only then would Dawn City truly have the ability to face the human sects without fear.

“Just keep a close eye on the population acquisition.”

After briefly listening to the reports, Lide stood up and walked to the window. Through the misted glass, he looked out at the snow falling like goose feathers. Outside was a real icy blood-soaked land.

Yet, inside, the warmth starkly contrasted with the cold outside.

Curious, he turned his head to look at Harrison.

“It seems we didn’t have such a warm environment last year. How did you manage it?”

Harrison’s face showed unmistakable pride upon hearing this. “Your Highness, this is the latest warmth preservation magic array developed by the Dawn City Mage Tower. Every Sunshine Hour, it only consumes a Medium Magic Crystal Stone to maintain a constant temperature indoors.”

A Medium Magic Crystal Stone for every Sunshine Hour?

That doesn’t seem expensive, considering that City Hall is three stories high and each floor is very spacious. One Magic Crystal Stone is well worth it.

However, this made Lide think of something else.

The Frost Month was too cold, and many residents of Dawn City burned charcoal for warmth, putting great pressure on the logistics department. Now every winter, a large number of trees had to be felled to make charcoal.

“Is it possible to create a magic array that could supply heating to the entire city?”

When Lide proposed this plan, Harrison’s first reaction was to shake his head.

“Your Highness, a magic array that covers the entire city would consume too much. Even if we owned a Magic Crystal Vein, we wouldn’t be able to sustain such a large amount of consumption for long.”

However, Harrison’s rejection only inspired Lide further.

On Earth, heating relied on burning hot water and using hot water channels to deliver heat to homes.

But Dawn City obviously couldn’t apply Earth’s methods wholesale since many components were lacking.

So, could it be magically modified?

After all, this was a world of magic. If it was possible on Earth, why couldn’t magic accomplish it?

“Harrison, I have a new plan that might change the living habits of our residents…”