Chapter 341 - 339: Changes in Starlight Town

Chapter 341: Chapter 339: Changes in Starlight Town

A one-way trip by cargo ship from Black Forest Island to the Starfall Islands took a month. However, after subtracting the time for loading and unloading cargo, the actual voyage was about twenty-four or twenty-five days.

Still, it was a long and boring journey.

With no way to contact the outside world, it felt like being completely isolated at sea.

To pass the tedious hours, Duane could only devote himself wholeheartedly to practicing Magic. The stern of the ship became his usual spot.

By the time he reached the Starfall Islands, all of his Level 1, 2, and 3 Magic—with the exception of the recently acquired Life Siphon and Bountiful Dew spells—had reached the Perfection Skill Level.

During his time in the Starfall Islands and on the sea, all seven of his Shaping Magic spells had advanced from Skilled to Perfection, earning him a total of 5.6 attribute points.

Speaking of which, Duane had used a clever trick to level up his Shaping Magic.

Generally, the higher the Level of a spell, the more Magic Power it consumed. But by using Shaping to cast a Level 1 Spell like the Flash Technique, the Magic Power cost was minimal.

This was precisely why Duane’s seven types of Shaping Magic had improved so quickly.

By now, Duane was increasingly amazed by the profundity of Magic.

Its vast system and variety provided him with a continuous stream of attribute points.

And after raising the Skill Level of all the spells he currently knew to Perfection, he could also try creating Spell Scrolls for them.

Although this process was certainly much slower than practicing Magic, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of ways to gain attribute points.

"My Lord, we’ve arrived at Jade Crossing."

Duane snapped back to his senses and gazed at the bay crossing ahead.

He hadn’t been to the Silver Jade Territory many times; his last visit was in the middle of last year.

After more than half a year of development, the crossing had undergone some new changes.

The simple wooden pier was now much sturdier. A large, flat area had been cleared around the port, and simple warehouses and a row of stone houses had been built for the Guards to rest in and for the temporary storage of supplies.

The muddy forest path was gone, replaced by a road paved with flagstones that stretched from the port all the way to the mountains on the other side.

These many changes were mainly thanks to Black Forest Island continuously sending people over last year.

The Silver Jade Territory now had a population of nearly three thousand, and the original Starlight Valley camp had transformed into the current Starlight Town.

"My Lord, what brings you here?"

Willie, who had followed Duane from Lakefront Manor to Black Forest Island, was now a Middle Level Warrior, and his build had become much more robust.

He was both surprised and delighted to see Duane, as he hadn’t received any news that the Lord would be visiting.

"Kaelon has you guarding the crossing?" Duane greeted him with a smile.

Willie scratched his head and said, "It just happens to be my turn for a seven-day rotation. They call it guarding the crossing, but it’s really more like a vacation, a chance to rest."

There wasn’t a single pirate at Jade Crossing, and even if some workers got into a dispute, he wasn’t needed to intervene.

"I’d much rather be hunting in the woods with the captain than doing this."

Duane chuckled. ’This guy is really honest.’

’It’s like an employee complaining to his boss that he has nothing to do.’

"I heard you became a Middle Level Warrior. You can use your break to practice your Combat Skills and Combat Techniques."

Willie nodded eagerly and puffed out his chest. "In the sparring competition at the end of last year, I ranked second among the Middle Level Warriors!"

"Look at you, all happy about that. Are you satisfied with just second place?"

Duane said with a laugh, "I expect you to be number one in the sparring competition at the end of this year, or even become an Advanced Warrior!"

Willie scratched his head in embarrassment. "I’ll do my best!"

Duane started walking, inspecting the new port. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

Unfortunately, the port construction crew from Silent Shore was still busy on Black Forest Island and couldn’t come over yet.

’Perhaps I should consider spending money to recruit a construction crew for the development of Jade Crossing.’

He had already established his forces in Sharp Stone Territory and chosen a base of operations. As a transit point, Silver Jade Territory needed to be well-developed.

Waiting for the Black Forest Island port to be finished before starting construction here would be too slow.

Besides, he wasn’t short on money right now.

The Warm Sun Soup business was bringing in a lot of profit, he got a monthly cut from the Time Closet, and the Hot Spring Mountain Tea had also gone into production at the end of last year.

If the Black Soil Purification Magic Array was built, it would provide Black Forest Island’s crops with fertilizer comparable to that of Fertile Soil.

Then, Black Forest Island’s grain yield would double. If he sold all the surplus grain, it would also bring in a considerable fortune!

After inspecting the port, Duane summoned his warhorse and rode along the stone road toward Starlight Town.

Looking down from the mountain, he saw houses situated on both sides of the river in Starlight Valley. Duane could already see large tracts of cultivated farmland and farmers tilling the fields.

It was almost February, and the busy farming season was fast approaching.

’Owington really knows what he’s doing. The houses are distributed evenly, without any sense of disorder. He clearly planned out the construction sites.’

Moreover, besides wooden cabins, earthen brick houses were also becoming popular here.

Duane had no idea when Owington had learned these techniques from the Territory.

Still, it was a good thing.

If the development of the Southern Plain focused on maximizing the area of farmland, then the development here was about steady progress. It was hard to say which approach was better.

While he was inspecting the area, Owington, having heard the news from somewhere, came running over.

As a Basic-level Warrior, his physical fitness was far superior to that of an ordinary person, so he was very fast.

Owington put his hands on his knees, panting as he spoke. "My Lord, I can’t believe you’ve really come to Starlight Town!"

Duane smiled. "I was just passing through, so I decided to drop by. How did you know I might be coming?"

His itinerary hadn’t been revealed. ’Did Owington take a trip to Black Forest Island and then guess?’

Owington took a deep breath, straightened up, and pulled several letters from his coat. "My Lord, you have to see this! Count Kais and Viscount Ugo are at war!"

Hmm?

Duane was taken aback, then snatched the letters and began to read them quickly.

There wasn’t just one letter, but many.

The one on top had the earliest date. It reported that Natalia had been assassinated and was in a coma, and that Silent Shore had declared war on the Fire Source Territory.

The following letters described the recent state of the war, likely the result of correspondence between Owington, Ralph, and others.

As of today, the war had been going on for nine days.

The situation on the first day was just as Count Kais had predicted. Marles and Jick led a fleet and used Siege Crossbows to break the stalemate, quickly occupying Silver Scale Port and taking control of the docks.

Afterward, they waited to rendezvous with the main army and then advanced rapidly, capturing Green Shade Manor—the same place where Duane had attended Elwin’s birthday party—within three days.

According to the last letter, Natalia had already woken up. Though she was weak, she was generally fine.

At the same time, the war was progressing very smoothly. The armies of Silent Shore had already taken control of several towns around Green Shade Manor.

The weight on Duane’s heart finally lifted.

The assassination attempt had stemmed from the conflict of interest over Warm Sun Soup. If Natalia had lost her life because of this, Duane would have absolutely regretted launching this business at this time.

Fortunately, despite the turmoil, Natalia was ultimately okay.

’That Ugo is truly insane. Even though Warm Sun Soup encroached on the profits of Fire Source Beast Bone Soup, he could have just lowered his prices.’

’No matter what, Fire Source Beast Bone Soup would always have a market; it would just be less profitable than before.’

But now that Viscount Ugo had taken such action, the situation was irreversible.

’He’s losing this badly, yet the King hasn’t openly intervened, and Viscount Ugo hasn’t surrendered.’

Duane frowned slightly. He suspected the viscount still had an ace up his sleeve.

’Is he waiting for reinforcements from Lapland Province?’

’Calculating the time, if Viscount Ugo’s sons-in-law are really sending support to Fire Source Castle, they should be arriving in about two more days.’

Regardless, Duane had to get to Silent Shore as quickly as possible and rendezvous with the Count’s army.

"Where’s Kaelon?"

Owington replied, "He’s in the woods west of town, training with the Guards!"

"Go tell him to come here!" Duane ordered.