Chapter 26: Shadow of the North
[Name: Shadow of the North]

[Type: Star Spirit Heaven/Spirit World]

[Description: It seems that the environment of the Northland thousands of years ago has materialized. It is speculated that it was a disaster in the Northland in history. Massive deaths in a short period of time produced a large number of souls, which formed this spiritual world under the attraction of a powerful "core"]

After returning to reality, Rod sat at the table and recorded his findings.

Then he looked at the quartz tube on the table.

A long, slender stream of white crystal-like light was sealed inside, flowing slowly as if it had life.

【Snowfield Horse Spiritual Essence】

What he encountered in the Star Spirit Heaven was not an illusion; he had indeed entered a mysterious spiritual world and brought back an essence of evolution.

“No wonder the guidebook describes it this way: Meditation in Xinglingtian is a fantastic and bizarre adventure every time.”

Rhodes looked out the window.

When his soul returned, the sky outside was gradually brightening and the night was over.

The world of the afterimage of the North is extremely powerful. The powerful first-level monsters in the real North are only at the bottom of the ecological niche there.

This forced Rhodes to slow down his exploration and move forward cautiously.

One night did not give him much useful information.

"If that is really the former North, this world is not as simple as I imagined."

Rhodes pondered, and he remembered the legend of the promised land in the royal capital of Renaissance City, the noble bloodline that the nobles boasted of, and the mysterious revelations in the church's gospel.

It seems that in this ordinary world with low magic on the surface, except for him, the wizard, everyone has something hidden in their hands.

Danger and opportunity coexist. If he wants to gain a firm foothold in the territory, he must seize the opportunity.

Rhodes was full of curiosity about the afterimage of the northern border, but problems arose in the next few days.

When his soul reached the Star Spirit Heaven for meditation, the connection with the afterimage of the northern border was extremely weak, making it difficult to confirm the direction.

This prevented him from entering it again.

It wasn't until this past week that the connection became clear again, pulling Rod's soul into it.

"Does it have to be every Monday night to enter there?"

After finishing the exploration and his soul returning to reality, Rhodes opened his eyes with a puzzled expression.

In wizard lore, if there was such a specific time requirement, it must mean that he lacked a certain key.

The connection of souls showed him the way to the remnant of the North.

But he couldn't open the door to enter, so he could only wait for the door to open at a fixed time.

He can only enter once a week and stay for one night.

The second exploration was less fruitful, but Rod was not disappointed.

The soul walking in that snowy field is itself a highly effective meditation that can effectively enhance his spirituality.

Another night passed and the sun rose.

It is now mid-September and the temperature in the outer North has begun to drop.

In the early morning of Pingdingshan, Rod was walking on the cleared streets.

The breeze blowing in my face brought a bone-chilling chill, and a thin layer of white frost condensed on the surface of the green leaves of the trees.

Fortunately, it hasn't snowed yet, so it won't affect the construction site.

In another month, there will be continuous snowfall here.

By then, I'm afraid it will become a scene similar to the afterimage of the north. Looking around, the world will become a pure white snowfield.

It’s beautiful, but not great for the people who live there.

The villagers came out of their houses, having changed into the cotton-padded clothes they had been given.

Seeing Rhodes coming, he saluted respectfully.

After half a month of continuous construction, most of the houses and pipelines in the residential area have been completed, and the remaining work is expected to be completed within five days.

Rhodes crossed the residential area and came to the magic field area.

Fifteen acres of magic fields have been formed here.

He planted high-quality barley on ten acres and high-quality black wolfberry on the other five acres.

Each acre of magic field can only support three high-quality black wolfberries, and it takes two years from seed to adulthood to fruition.

Each plant can only produce twenty fruits at a time.

The fruit of the advanced black wolfberry was important to Rhodes's early development.

It can help him train soldiers and knights, and can also be made into blood-replenishing potions to treat severe injuries and blood loss. He only has two left, and his reserves are seriously insufficient.

To solve this problem, Rhodes had to wait until he was promoted to a first-level intermediate wizard.

By then he can learn more advanced knowledge on maintenance and ripening to speed up the growth of the magic plants.

After looking at the situation in the demon field, he came to the animal area.

The maned horse, which he had integrated into the essence of a snowfield colt, was now lying listlessly on the thatch.

When it saw its owner coming, it cried softly.

Rhodes observed the situation and found that the mane horse's originally thick brown and black hair had all fallen off and was scattered all over the ground.

Instead, the whole body is covered with fine white hair, pure and smooth.

Its body has shrunk in size, but it does not appear thin. On the contrary, its streamlined muscles on its limbs and back are highlighted.

Evolution has reached its final stage.

As long as it can survive these few days and adapt to its current strength, it will be able to regain its life after standing up and become a true snowfield colt.

Rhodes looked at the straw mat on the other side again.

The saber-toothed tiger lying on it was licking its claws calmly, looking very contented.

After a week of feeding, Rhodes successfully signed a [Pasture Contract] with it and was able to sense its emotions.

The saber-toothed tiger was willing to submit to his power.

But he couldn't stand those weak villagers and refused to let them get close to him.

Seeing this, Rhodes simply designated a separate area in Pingdingshan as its lair.

On weekdays, it would run out on its own and hunt in the north.

Then it brought the prey back and fed it with the nutritious potion prepared by Rhodes using [Magic Harmony].

With the saber-toothed tiger and white bread, the ranch's initial manager was finally found.

The next step is to wait for the first season of high-quality barley to mature.

Using straw as feed, Rod was able to establish his own ranch near Pingdingshan and try to tame the reindeer and yaks here.

There is also a kind of sheep on the snowfield that can produce wool efficiently, called cashmere sheep.

He also planned to buy a batch from the fortress and raise them on the ranch.

The livestock raised on the ranch can provide a sufficient population to be used as material to breed more monsters.

The by-products produced, such as wool, yak milk, etc., can form industries.

Provide jobs for villagers, increase fiscal revenue, and form a positive cycle.

By the way, the batch of food that I ordered at Duanlong Fortress should be arriving soon.

Rhodes estimated the time, and just in case, in addition to the food he had now, he also ordered a batch from his own Chamber of Commerce.

Fifteen thousand pounds of whole wheat meal, enough to feed four hundred people for a month.

It should arrive at Hekou Town in the next two days and then be delivered to him.

The wheat flour in Broken Dragon Fortress was cheaper than bread, at 6 copper coins per pound, and this food would cost him 9 gold coins.

Rhodes only had 15 gold coins left, and he had to pay his men a salary of 11 gold coins in half a month.

When all was said and done, his money wasn't even enough.

Fortunately, a lot of furs and deer antlers were harvested in the territory during this period, among which two Ice Blade Wolf furs were worth 4 gold coins.

All in all, it's worth about 6 gold coins.

It can be sold to caravans transporting food to offset financial problems.

Later, the villagers will be dismissed from his command system, and the territory's trade and taxation system will be established, and the financial pressure will naturally disappear over time.

After finishing today's work, Pingdingshan entered night.

Rhodes sat in the room, preparing to start meditating.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed and his expression became extremely serious.

At the same time, the raven perched at the foot of Mesa Mountain opened its eyes.

It hid in the dark night, silently watching below the treetops.

In the dead silent woods, an army was quietly moving towards Pingdingshan.

(End of this chapter)