Chapter 534: Chapter 534

In the blink of an eye, the next month was upon them, with their quotas fully restored. Giant Rock Fortress directly produced 650 soldiers, pushing their total soldier count to 1,200. Among all neighboring territories, their military strength was now second to none.

Although some territories indeed had more soldiers than theirs, the quality of such soldiers was extremely poor. Some were just there to make up the numbers without any real combat ability.

Meanwhile, they also got a new batch of griffins and dogs.

Now their air squadron rose to 200, with their Griffin Mounts and Heavy Armored Cavalry each amounting to a hundred every month. Their Battle Griffins had increased to 400, with their high-tier griffins reaching forty.

If they had this sort of force during the previous monster siege, the Sandman Aerial Legion that came from nowhere would not have caused them the slightest damage, let alone the subsequent destruction.

Du You ramped up his farm production to ten farms, coupled with a food processing plant, which were able to feed a population of 200,000. The population limit of the territory itself was just a mere 100,000, excluding the food that would be later planted and harvested in the farmlands.

Of course, the surplus food mainly appeared in a rather high-end manner before it was sold off to other territories or the White Stone City. The food was essentially a means for them to earn gold coins.

The rural towns around their territory bought their food with gold coins from other places. Du You had a mild obsession with hoarding food out of fear that someone might cut off their food supply and they’d starve. As a result, he insisted on creating ten farms. The farms filled their valley to the brim, leaving Shaliya rather helpless.

Shaliya initially opposed Du You’s actions, but he was adamant about it and there was nothing she could do. As a lord, Du You had the final say, and although it might seem wasteful, there were no real drawbacks to the territory.

With such confidence, Shaliya was now ready to continue expanding their territory.

They hadn’t managed to occupy the entire area of their 10 square kilometers yet. In reality, the true development area of their territory was still confined to the valley, without any exterior expansion.

However, they now had no choice but to expand given that Du You had increased their civilian population to 80,000, leaving just a 20,000 difference from their maximum. Not that Du You didn’t want to expand, but there simply wasn’t enough room left within the territory.

The territory was filled with residential buildings on all sides. Ten thousand houses, enough to accommodate 100,000 individuals, added up to a whopping 20,000. With so many residences clustered together, it was a crowded sight. To accommodate everyone, some had to build their homes outside the valley. Despite the vastness of the valley, it couldn’t house such a significant population. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥

Another reason was the lack of red crystal coins Du You had left. There just weren’t enough to summon more people.

The remaining red crystal coins would be used next month for further military training. The small amount of red crystal coins provided by the daily operation of the territory was not nearly enough for overall development.

Even with the level up of the territory, the number of red crystal coins gained from its daily operation remained the same.

Territory: Mountain Town（Tier 2）

Area: 10 square kilometers

Lord: Du You/ Deputy Lord: Shaliya

Territory Revenue: 500 red crystal coins every day. Consumption: 200 red crystal coins every day.

Population: 80000/100000（Non-combat creatures may not exceed one-tenth of population）

Troops: 1200/10000（Combat creatures may not exceed one-tenth of troops）

As the valley was now packed to the brim with people, Shaliya had to come up with a plan to establish new settlements in the mountains outside the valley. They had already cleared a few areas, all that was left was to build the settlements.

Following Shaliya’s plans, the territory had to first expand from the inside out gradually, with the goal of making contact with the outskirts town. This would turn the territory into a major city.

The towns in the outer area had to be constructed slowly and were far from completion. Besides walls and houses, there probably wouldn’t be any functional buildings in those areas. However, arrow towers could be erected if necessary.

After the expansion, the edge of the territory had already reached the outskirts town, something that even Du You hadn’t expected so soon. The next upgrade would undoubtedly include this town.

At the same time as Du You’s extensive construction efforts in the territory, the Sandpeople finally received news of the mastermind who destroyed one of their cities. Although the information came from humans, the Sandpeople were convinced it was true after a period of investigation.

"Now that we’re sure, why haven’t we acted yet? We’re talking about a city. And I heard there are things from a lord there too, I wonder how they managed to steal them."

"Act? That place is near White Stone City. After our last battle, we haven’t yet regained control over the edge of the desert. If we send too many soldiers, White Stone City will undoubtedly interfere. You don’t expect us to fight White Stone City again, do you?"

"Fight then, what’s there to be afraid of? Those cowardly humans only know how to fight behind their city walls. Do you think I’d be afraid if they came out?"

"What did you say? Do you want to fight?" Tongues wagging, the Sandpeople looked like they were on the brink of going to war with one another.

A leading Sandperson slammed the table, "Everyone, shut up! We can’t afford to overlook the tasks assigned to us by the lords. Besides, it’s beneficial. However, we also need to beware of White Stone City."

He paused before adding, "That’s why we need to put pressure on White Stone City from the north, then attack from the south. The key is speed; we can’t afford to delay."

"How are we supposed to apply pressure from the north? We don’t have enough troops."

"We can request reinforcements from the Oasis in the north, we can pay a price. Compared to the benefits, this little price is nothing."

"I agree, huh, we’ve been oppressed for two years now. The humans have grown too bold. If this continues, wouldn’t the southern part of our empire be breached by the humans?"

"What empire? We’re called Quicksand Empire when dealing with outsiders, but you think we’re really an empire?" Their differing views clashed once again, and it looked like they were going to come to blows. The composition of the Quicksand Empire was indeed complicated.

"Shut up, all of you! Begin preparations. You’re all so powerful; I want you all to fight in the upcoming actions. Whoever kills more humans makes the decisions." Upon hearing this, instead of silence, the surrounding Sandpeople’s morale soared.

The Sandpeople glanced at each other, neither willing to back down. The Oasis lord was used to this, he didn’t mind them at all.