Chapter 84: Countermeasures!
Despite the scorching heat blanketing his land, and the red sun driving its tongues of flame down over his head, all Kaiden felt right now was a bitter cold wrapping itself completely around his being.
The area they stood in was barren land, unfit for farming. The trees were sparse and rare — you might not find a single one for kilometers. As for water, it was rarer than gold. To describe the region they were in with a single word: poor.
Thanks to the World Market, lords hadn't suffered too much before. You could import huge quantities of the wood and water you needed for development for just a handful of meat units. But now, with the Origin Point tax, forget development — even just surviving thirst had become extremely difficult.
Even though trade was still open, and lords could still theoretically buy as much water as they wanted, it was, in reality, a pointless trade in the long run. Many might have enough Origin Points to cover their water needs, but their Territory's development would inevitably grind to a halt, which ultimately meant extinction.
This applied even to Kaiden. Don't be fooled by the thousands of Origin Points he had — they wouldn't be enough to fill even half of the large reservoir in his Territory. Fortunately, he'd filled it spontaneously before Novice Protection ended, and his water reserves were still substantial. His Territory consumed roughly five hundred liters of water daily between farming, drinking, and everything else.
So, theoretically, he had enough water to last two or three weeks. But, just like with food, water consumption would gradually increase as the population grew. The real time remaining was far less than that. Either way, complaining and moping wouldn't help — thinking through a solution was far more productive.
When a person regains their calm, the door locked shut in their mind swings wide open. Problems that seem unsolvable change their entire nature once calm sets in. And that's exactly what happened to Kaiden in this moment. Once the initial panic settled, he quickly arrived at a workable solution.
"Groundwater..." he murmured, turning his head to look at the mountains near and far, some of which stood particularly tall. He remembered the voice mentioning that seals had been removed from various resource veins. Groundwater was considered one of those resource veins, which was likely why he hadn't found any before.
He was confident that using Earth Sight, he'd find a water source if he searched properly. And if not on his own land, then certainly somewhere nearby. He didn't believe this world's system had brought them all here just to kill them off with thirst — that would be absurd.
Once he'd found a formula for solving the problem and realized the sky hadn't actually fallen, strength returned to Kaiden's feet. His footing grew steadier on the ground, and his eyes filled with the resolve to overcome whatever difficulties lay ahead, no matter their size.
The first thing Kaiden did was head to the Lord's Hall. The administrative officials were standing at the hall's entrance, waiting for him.
"I called you all here for a meeting about urban planning... but some things have changed." Kaiden explained everything to them in detail, from the vanished equipment to the new reality with water.
Unlike the rest of the Territory's residents, who didn't need to be informed of every little detail, it was essential for the administrative officials to know about these changes so they could rush to adapt to them.
"And that's what happened... so, the planning meeting has been postponed to tonight. For now, you have new tasks." Kaiden tapped the table rhythmically and looked at the four administrative officials before him. Seeing their serious, attentive expressions, he continued.
"Leave the water matter to me — I'll find a solution. Just post a notice about the need for reasonable consumption. That's enough for now."
Hearing the Lord's words, the tension in all four of their shoulders eased slightly.
"What you need to focus on is preparing the army's gear. I don't want to see a single one of my soldiers lacking equipment by the end of today... and that's not all."
Kaiden raised two fingers.
"Within two days, I want weapon and armor reserves sufficient to arm soldiers the instant they arrive!"
Kaiden saw their shoulders tense back up again, but he didn't care. What mattered to him right now was making sure the soldiers' development wasn't held back by a lack of weapons and gear, and nothing else. But he wasn't being unreasonable — his words were built on ideas he'd thought through while walking over.
"First, we have the Emerging Heroes' leftover weapons that will be replaced later. Give those to the two Emerging Heroes and the Elite Soldiers — that's enough for today. We also have several of Blacksmith Hook's assistants qualified in smithing, so I'm ordering you to start building an apprentice blacksmith workshop immediately, meeting system standards." By system standards, he meant a fully equipped forge and tools with nothing missing, and solid craftsmanship in the construction.
"The new blacksmith workshop will be dedicated exclusively to producing Elite Soldier gear. As for the militia, we already have all the resources and workshops needed to equip them. First, we have plenty of tanned beast hides ready to be turned into leather armor. Second, for weapons, it's fine if they're not made of iron. Use beast claws and bones to craft temporary weapons."
"Understood, sir!" The officials' eyes lit up. The Lord had laid out the path clearly for them — if they couldn't get the job done after all that explanation, they might as well bury themselves alive.
"In summary, we have the carpentry, tailoring, tanning, bone-carving workshops, and others that never needed to operate at full capacity before. Things have changed now. Supply them with assistants and listen to what they need... but!"
Kaiden emphasized that last word, and his eyes suddenly turned to a cold gleam. Silence fell for a few seconds, then he spoke slowly, stressing every word.
"I don't want to hear about anyone slacking off, or anyone defying orders. You need to make this clear to everyone. Whoever deliberately obstructs things... I'll water the Lord's Hall entrance with their blood myself!"
"The same goes for you. If I hear that any of you has abused your authority beyond its scope..." Kaiden didn't finish the sentence, but everyone present, including Casper, understood the implication. A cold chill ran down their spines.
Kaiden rested his elbow on the table, then spoke in a calm tone that brought the atmosphere back to normal.
"That's all. Off to your tasks."
Once the administrative officials left, Kaiden remained seated alone, lost in thought. He was well aware that, up to this point, no behavioral problems had appeared among his Territory's residents. They'd been working hard and honestly, with no visible malice. But this warning was meant to head off future problems. And if the warning didn't work, he had no issue resorting to harshness when necessary.
To Kaiden, a gentle ruler wasn't a good ruler, just as a harsh ruler wasn't a good ruler either. But a harsh one was, at the very least, better than a gentle one. As for himself, he didn't want to be either. He wanted to be a wise ruler... though saying it was always easier than doing it.
"Ah... having that intention for now will have to be enough." He let out a long sigh, leaving the matter at that.
At that moment, Kaiden suddenly heard Ibla's excited voice ring out in his mind.
"Master! I found something amazing!!!"
End of Chapter 84.
*Author's Note: I think some of you have noticed the main character's growth — I hope this gradual development feels understandable and makes sense to you.... I did my best.*