Chapter 37: The Agros
Agropolis
Far away from Blackstone Village lies the city of Agropolis, a ten square kilometer walled valley city located in the most fertile region of the Border Prison.
This city was completely different from the small Agros settlement where Theo had almost been sold as a slave. This was the true capital of the Agricultural Tribe.
Brick buildings filled the valley alongside massive ziggurat-shaped structures that made the entire city look disturbingly similar to ancient Babylon from Earth three thousand years ago.
But Agropolis was never built by the Agricultural Tribe.
The city was clearly far older than them, an ancient civilization from some forgotten era that had somehow survived intact. The Agros had merely occupied it sometime in the last few centuries and renamed it Agropolis.
The difference between the Agros and the other tribes was obvious at a glance.
The Agros wore proper clothes, lived inside brick houses, and walked through the streets like people with actual rights. Meanwhile the non-Agros? Rags.
They carried the Agros’ belongings, cleaned the streets, hauled supplies, and handled every filthy work the Agros didn’t want to touch. Or in short, slaves.
Meanwhile, at the center of the city stood the largest ziggurat of them all, serving as the palace.
Inside the throne room, a young muscular man sat lazily on a stone throne, drinking wine and eating fruits while several beautiful women surrounded him, feeding him, massaging his shoulders, and entertaining him like he was some spoiled emperor.
An old fat man covered in jewelry approached the throne with a cheerful smile.
“High Warden Novius,” the man greeted politely. “I have returned.”
Only in the Border Prison was there no king, only wardens. This place was still technically a prison after all.
“Lord Magistrate Goth,” Novius replied with equal cheer. “How was your trip to Ironbound?”
“Marvelous, High Warden,” Goth replied proudly. “The King praised our offering.”
“That’s good to hear.” Novius casually tossed another berry into his mouth. “Though I expected you to return later.”
“High Warden, have you forgotten?” Goth smiled. “I still need to prepare for the winter festival here.”
“Ahahaha!” Novius burst into laughter. “Right, right. Just a couple more months.”
“That’s correct, High Warden,” Goth replied with a smile.
“Well, hopefully every tribe works hard for this year’s tribute quota,” Novius said casually.
“I hope so too.”
“Actually, it doesn’t really matter,” Novius suddenly said with a shrug. “It’s been a couple years since our army razed any settlements. Would be nice to let the troops get some exercise.”
“Haha, I forgot you actually enjoy watching that personally, High Warden.”
“Exactly, hahahaha!” Novius laughed loudly.
“Hahahaha!” Goth followed along.
Their laughter echoed throughout the throne room.
The High Warden and the Lord Magistrate. It wasn’t by accident that the Agros had become the strongest tribe in the Border Prison.
The Agros were direct descendants of the prison’s original jailors, and even after all this time, they were still carrying out the same duty their ancestors once did.
Keeping the Border Prison population under control. Not too little, not too much, and certainly not civilized enough to become a threat.
That was why the Agros strictly prohibited farming outside their own territory. Any settlement that became capable of producing stable food eventually became capable of building walls, raising armies, and creating an actual civilization.
The Agros couldn’t allow that.
And to make sure nobody else could grow too much, they enforced another system. Tribute taxes, collected from every settlement right before winter arrived, when food was scarce and survival mattered the most.
---
The Grassland — 1 Month Later
Only this time, one tribe had decided to stop following the Agros’ demand to remain weak and controlled, and finally begin its path toward becoming a thriving civilization.
The only problem was… this one tribe hadn’t exactly become one yet.
“No. We refuse.” A burly scavenger man with a great axe strapped to his back crossed his arms stubbornly.
At the Blackstone training field, several Blackstone soldiers were currently stuck arguing with a group of rough-looking scavenger men and women.
“But everyone here uses standardized equipment now!” one of the Blackstone soldiers argued back.
“I ain’t giving up my axe,” the burly scavenger shot back immediately. “Do you have any idea how hard it was getting this thing as loot?!”
“And my sword!” another scavenger added from behind him.
“Me too! I had the best equipment in my old village!”
The problem with old scavenger-style warriors was simple. They used whatever good equipment they personally managed to scavenge over the years.
The result was exactly what Theo would call a standard RPG party, everyone carrying random weapons with completely different reach, weight, fighting style, and maintenance needs.
“It doesn’t work like that anymore here!” the Blackstone soldier shouted back. “In our army, everyone uses the same weapons and the same equipment! No exceptions!”
Naturally, there was no place for random RPG-style warriors inside an organized army.
The two groups continued arguing back and forth while, further behind them, Theo and Captain Matheo watched the entire exchange unfold.
“This feels exactly like the first time we tried building our soldiers from scratch,” Theo muttered with a long sigh. “They’re all way too attached to their personal equipment.”
“You’re right, Vice-Chief,” Matheo replied while rubbing his chin. “Especially after they heard we’re planning to melt most of their iron gear down.”
He glanced toward the arguing scavengers.
“We got lucky the first time with Miss Erika.”
“Yes, Captain. But this time that won’t work anymore,” Theo replied. “Most of these people barely even know her.”
The shouting in the training field only grew louder.
“My axe!”
“You people are crazy!”
“You want us to throw away perfectly good weapons?!”
Theo stared at the mess for a few more seconds before exhaling again.
“…I need to think of something.”
Four weeks after the scavenger chiefs visited Blackstone, the other eight scavenger tribes had finally relocated near Blackstone territory.
Some settled near the grasslands, some near the rivers, some inside the forests, and some closer to the ravine, all positioned roughly five to ten kilometers away from Blackstone so communication could still be maintained within a few hours on foot.
But naturally, suddenly cramming multiple scavenger tribes together came with problems. Or more specifically, a culture shock.
“Vice-Chief!”
A shout suddenly came from behind.
A Blackstone teenage messenger came running toward Theo, breathing heavily.
“Chief Tara is looking for you,” the boy reported between breaths.
“Ah, alright. I’m coming,” Theo replied.
---
Blackstone Village
Moments later, Theo and the messenger arrived at the village entrance riding Bianca together before climbing down from the alpha demon hound.
“Can you take her back to the stable for me?” Theo asked while handing Bianca’s reins to the boy.
“Yes, Vice-Chief.”
The boy quickly led Bianca away while Theo walked deeper into the village.
Blackstone Village looked completely different now compared to a month ago.
Thanks to Archimedes, sturdy defensive walls now surrounded the settlement, complete with elevated scaffolding that allowed slingers and archers to move safely across the top.
Any goblin army thinking about raiding the village now would have to think twice first.
Every main path in the village had also been properly paved using stone and pebbles. Some sections even had decorative patterns added into them, courtesy of several bored but surprisingly creative villagers.
And ever since the smithy was built, waste-producing activities like leather tanning, woodworking, and large-scale crafting had all been moved closer to the river.
Basically, despite still using tipi tents, Blackstone Village now looked far more like a permanent iron age settlement rather than a wandering nomadic camp.
The entire place looked clean, organized, and alive.
Something that immediately made the newly arrived scavenger tribes stare at the village in awe and start wanting the same kind of life for themselves.
Well… at least until they realized all the nice stuff came with a price.
Changing habits.
And apparently, humans hated that part.
“No!” a Blackstone woman cried out in frustration. “You can’t just drink water without boiling it first!”
As Theo walked past the village’s open kitchen area, he spotted a Blackstone female villager trying her best to teach several women from the other tribes about safe food and water preparation.
A table sat between them, covered with cooking ingredients, clay bowls, and a large pot of water.
“Why not?” one of the scavenger women complained. “The water looks fine. It’s not muddy and tastes normal.”
She casually scooped some water out using a ladle before taking a gulp.
“But you still need to boil it,” the Blackstone villager insisted hesitantly. “There’s bacteria inside.”
“I don’t see anything inside,” another woman muttered while peering directly into the pot.
“And what even is a bahteria?” someone else asked.
“You mean I have to start a fire every time I want to drink?” another complained loudly. “That’s way too much hassle if I’m not even cooking!”
The Blackstone villager looked tearing up and completely overwhelmed, clearly running out of answers against the endless complaints.
“Sigh…”
Theo could only sigh as he continued walking past the kitchen.
For the past week, scenes like this had become an everyday occurrence throughout the village.
In the end, Theo realized all those kingdom-building games back on Earth really didn’t do civilization any justice.
Over there, more population was always a good thing. You just assigned people around, clicked upgrade once you unlocked the technology, and suddenly everything worked perfectly.
Well, that happened because the populations in those games couldn’t bitch and moan like actual humans.