Chapter 89 Post-event issues
Rhodes put away the letter from the fortress, feeling a sense of urgency.

The river valley plain south of Broken Dragon Fortress was hit by a cold wave. If nothing unexpected happens, the price of food in the fortress will rise at an unimaginable rate.

This food crisis will threaten the entire principality.

And Rhodes and other pioneering knights are located in the north of the principality.

The food needed by the territory is almost entirely supplied by the fortress, and the blow it will suffer will only be more severe!
What made Rhodes feel relieved was that he had purchased food in advance.

Even without food input from the outside, it can last at least three months.

As long as we can safely get through this most difficult time, in the future, large quantities of food from the Great Plains of the Kingdom will be transported to the Principality to resolve the crisis here.

Although the threat of this cold wave is great, with the kingdom's supplies, it is not enough to destroy the order system of the Northern Frost Principality.

The nobles of the Great Plains will take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, but they won't go too far.

They are not fools. Their long-term trade with the Principality will make them know when to stop.

The food problem threatens the survival of the principality, but Grand Duke Beishuang holds a powerful military force.

If the kingdom really dares to withhold food, it will force Grand Duke Beishuang to rebel.

Moreover, it was a massive rebellion in which the entire nobles of the duchy worked together with no retreat!

"With this lesson, I hope the Principality will be well prepared for the next cold wave."

Rhodes sighed worriedly and turned to walk towards the magic field area.

Unlike the heavy losses of farmland in the Principality, the two hundred acres of magic fields in Pingdingshan are in good condition.

The high-quality barley inside not only did not wither, but instead grew vigorously.

In just one week, it has risen visibly.

"It seems there is good news. The magic power contained in the cold wave can nourish the magic field, which in turn accelerates the growth of the magic plants."

After checking the status of the magic field, Rhodes came to a conclusion.

This suddenly gave him a bold idea about the cold wave.

"Perhaps I can build a magic pool in the magic field area by collecting the magic power of the cold wave?"

With this idea in mind, Rhodes couldn't help but get excited.

Because there is real hope of success.

The magic pool is one of the prerequisite knowledge for the wizard tower, and under normal circumstances, it requires a second-level wizard to be involved.

Especially the magical environment of Rhodes' world.

The thin concentration of magic power makes this process particularly difficult.

However, the emergence of the cold wave and the mottled divinity obtained from the afterimage of the North provided the foundation for the construction of the magic pool.

"According to the most rudimentary magic pool combination, I need a magic gathering array to seal the powerful soul and use the self-adsorption effect of the spiritual to separate the magic from the cold wave."

"The second is the filter that is responsible for purifying magic power and removing impurities from the cold wave magic power. The magic field can handle this task just fine."

"The last one is the energy storage pool that is responsible for storing magic power. It needs to be made of a high-quality magic storage container."

Rhodes constructed the basic blueprint of the magic pool in his mind.

The souls needed for the magic gathering array can be collected in Shadow of the North.

Mo Tian is in charge of the filter screen, and the only thing left to be found is the materials for the energy storage tank.

Blue agate? It's not that it can't be used.

But after all, it is just ordinary material, and the grade is still a bit low.

Rhodes looked at the ring in his hand and shook his head.

The energy reservoir will determine the total capacity and stability of the mana pool.

Blue agate is not of good quality. Not only can it be stored in small quantities, it is also prone to explosion.

There should be more suitable materials in the North.

Rhode made a plan in his mind to facilitate the next search. Then he looked at the experimental field next to the magic field.

Unlike high-quality barley, most of the hybrid barley there died.

Because geothermal bacteria were planted in advance, a few seedlings were drooping and looking shaky, but they still persisted tenaciously.

Rhodes dropped the moon essence into his eyes and looked closer.

【Cold resistance (weak)】

This is the trace of magic on one of the plants, and it is also the one in the best condition.

The cold wave defeated its companions, but it also allowed it, which persevered to the end, to go further and completely consolidate its cold-resistant traits.

Rhodes transplanted it to the magic field area, preparing to let this hybrid barley grow quickly.

In order to cultivate more highland barley with cold-resistant traits.

The affairs here in Pingdingshan have been basically resolved.

At noon that day, Rod rode on his snow horse and quickly arrived at Hekou Town.

As a commercial town responsible for foreign trade, the impact of the cold wave here is far greater than the other two territories, and he urgently needs to deal with it personally.

"Master, you are here!"

Mullen, the chief clerk of Hekou Town, was standing at the gate. When he saw Rhodes coming, he excitedly went forward to greet him.

The two walked along the town's streets and came to the town's commercial district.

Compared to the beginning, a square was built in the center of the commercial district, with two-story brick and stone houses nearby.

This is a trading market for residents and merchants.

There are fish shops selling delicious fish such as salmon, sturgeon, cod, etc. from the Hanshui River, construction houses responsible for building houses, and blacksmith shops selling various farm tools and ironware.

Foreign merchants can order all kinds of goods directly here.

You can also choose to open your own shop and sell scarce supplies in the territory, such as salt and sugar.

Residents of the town also like to spend money here and enjoy unprecedented treatment.

Although the work in the territory provides food, it only provides enough food and clothing.

The existence of the market is to collect wealth from the floating residents of Rhodes and ensure that the territory's economy maintains a normal cycle.

In the past, the market performed its task well.

But now a problem has arisen. A sudden cold wave has blocked the trade routes, causing the transportation and supply of materials to be cut off.

When Rhodes entered the square market, most of the shops here were closed.

Only a few buildings and blacksmith shops operated by the territory were still in business.

After strolling around the market, Rhodes and Maren entered the government building.

Rhodes asked, "What is the specific situation of Hekou Town's business?"

Mullen quickly picked up a report and reported the situation: "Master, this is the current business report of the town. The biggest problem is the lack of coal."

"According to the commercial agreement we signed with Black Rock City, they should have delivered a new batch of coal two days ago, but the situation is unclear now. If no new coal is delivered in two weeks, the blast furnace in Mole Town will be forced to stop working!"

"Besides that, due to the cold wave, no caravan is willing to deliver the batch of pig iron ordered from Peak City. We need to pay them a penalty of 20 gold coins."

"There is a new batch of 100,000 bricks and stones currently piling up in the warehouse, but no caravan is willing to purchase and transport them yet."

"Residents' shopping consumption is also declining. Compared with buying alcohol and decorations before, they are now more willing to buy dried fish, flour and other foods that can be preserved for a long time, which may increase the food burden of the territory."

Bad news appeared before Rhodes.

The biggest problem is not just the cold wave, but the heavy snow that buried the roads.

Even after the cold wave passes, the caravan will still need to spend a lot of time clearing the road before traffic can resume.

(End of this chapter)