CHAPTER 537: CHAPTER 285: ARE YOU WILLING TO SHARE IT TOGETHER?

Hudson and his group left Djibouti Village, spent the night outdoors, and finally, on the second day, they arrived at Glasgow Village.

He had been here before and was quite familiar with the environment of the place, but upon arriving today, he found it greatly different.

Especially the outer environment of Glasgow Village, it obviously had been renovated, looking much more refined than before.

The most important thing was, Glasgow Village was building a road, and it was clear that the construction had been underway for some time, extending far beyond the territory boundaries.

Hudson did not think the construction of this road was without purpose.

Looking at the road workers, Hudson directly voiced his doubts.

"What is this road being built for?"

"To Hope Village," the road worker replied without hesitation, his expression revealing a hint of joy as he spoke. After all, Hope Village had become a special presence among the nearby territories, a place of aspiration for many residents.

Once the two roads were connected, travel between the two places would increase, and for them, residents having a powerful partner like Hope Village was naturally something to celebrate.

Hudson’s brows furrowed slightly as he listened.

Even though he had prepared himself for the idea that Hope Village would have a good relationship with Glasgow Village, he didn’t expect it to be this good.

Thinking this, Hudson blurted out without thinking, "Won’t your territory lose many people to Hope Village migration? Isn’t your Lord worried that more people will leave if more roads are built?"

There was a hint of provocation in Hudson’s words.

The road worker glanced at Hudson and his companions, paused, then directly said, "What’s wrong with people moving to a place as good as Hope Village? In the past, many of our professionals moved to Bengala Town once they achieved intermediate professional status! Have you ever seen our territory stop them? Our Lord has said, if a territory can’t keep people, it signifies the territory’s failure, and preventing them from leaving is an even greater failure."

Hudson: "..."

— He felt as if he had been subtlety criticized.

The road worker continued, seeing the change in Hudson’s expression, "Moreover, I think having a good place like Hope Village is quite nice. After our Lord visited there, he returned with many good things and has been pushing for reforms in our territory. We are now planning to build a school so our children can attend school within our own territory, among other things..."

Hudson couldn’t listen any further.

He understood clearly that Glasgow Village was no longer a viable option.

The next moment, the thought of entering Glasgow Village left Hudson’s mind.

He had barely been in Djibouti Village for a moment before he was discovered, and he feared it would be the same in Glasgow Village.

"Thank you," Hudson said, managing to squeeze a strained smile onto his face before turning around with his team and leaving.

Watching Hudson and his group leave, the road worker squinted his eyes slightly.

There was something odd about this group of people!

While he was thinking this, someone came up to him and said, "That man is the Soldier Team Captain from Barnes Village."

"How do you know?" asked the road worker to his companion.

"I went out hunting with a mercenary team; we walked far and spent the night in Barnes Village, planning to sell some goods to make room. However, Barnes Village was a rip-off, they taxed our goods extremely high and also pressured us to lower our prices. We didn’t want to sell at all, but then we were blocked by some men, and that man was among them. His name seems to be Hudson; he was quite unpleasant, leaving a strong impression on me. I recognized him the moment I saw him, and listening to him, I sensed he had ill intentions," explained the man, his expression full of indignation.

Mercenaries led a risky life, and being swindled even a small amount of money was intolerable.

The road worker nodded in agreement as he listened, "I also sensed he had bad intentions, but why would someone from Barnes Village come to our territory to stir up trouble between us and Hope Village?"

The person who recognized Hudson spoke again, "I know about that. When Hope Village was selling goods like hotcakes, residents from many territories around here went to Hope Village. Residents from Barnes Village were no exception. Life wasn’t good in Barnes Village, and with Hope Village being such a good place, of course they would go there. Many left at that time, and I heard later that the residents were stopped by the Lord of Barnes Village. Now, it seems they can’t be stopped any longer, so the Lord of Barnes Village is probably looking to form an alliance with our Territory Lord to confront Hope Village."

"Pah! Wishful thinking! No wonder he looked off when I said those things. He can’t manage his own territory, can’t keep people, and then blames Hope Village," the road worker scoffed.

"Exactly! Our territory has been getting better and better since we started dealing with Hope Village. The merchants lowered some of the prices of goods to prevent the invasion of foreign merchandise, making the cost of living lower than before. With the introduction of seasoning, Beast Meat has become especially delicious, improving our lives."

"And our breeding of Demon Beasts has increased in speed; merchant teams are vying to buy them!"

"The welfare benefits for the residents in the territory have improved as well."

"And there’s the school..."

"..."

One by one, the road workers around them echoed, focusing mostly on the positive aspects.

After they finished speaking, the original road worker said, "So it’s not Hope Village’s problem, it’s Barnes Village’s own issue."

"Yes, yes, yes," the others chimed in without hesitation, especially the one who recognized Hudson.

After all, he was a lifetime detractor of Barnes Village.

"This matter still needs to be reported. Since our territory has such a good relationship with Hope Village, it would be prudent for our Lord to inform the Lord of Hope Village, just to be prepared and not be maligned by schemers."

"All right, you go report it now!" the others urged.

In no time at all, the report from the road workers reached the ears of Viscount Lancelot.

"It’s not surprising that Barnes Village would do such a thing," Viscount Lancelot scoffed.

As the Lord of Barnes Village, how could Viscount Robin not be aware of the issues?

He really dared to dream!

If the Lords of Barnes Village had considered their territory’s welfare just a bit more, they would never have fallen to their current state.

Of course, Hope Village had an influence on the surrounding territories, but not to such an extent as they claimed.

"Not everyone sees things as clearly as you, my Lord, and furthermore treats the residents so well," Bernie added, insinuating a compliment to his own Lord while taking a jab at Barnes Village.

Viscount Lancelot glanced at Bernie and said directly, "I feel Barnes Village won’t make an impact on Hope Village, but we should still say something, if only to maintain good relations."

"Yes," Bernie agreed immediately.

"By the way, did they say which direction he went in?" Viscount Lancelot asked.

"It seemed he headed east."

"What territories are in the east?"

"Places like Yuxi Village, Qinghe Village, and so on. They’re new territories as well, based on previous investigations," Bernie quickly replied.

"Mention this as well, there seem to be quite a few people from Qinghe Village heading to Hope Village," Viscount Lancelot said briefly.

This single statement revealed that Viscount Lancelot had a thorough understanding of the surrounding territories.

This was part of his strategy for survival.

He had already formulated a plan for his territory.

It was just that he hadn’t expected Hope Village to emerge as a variable.

However, for Viscount Lancelot, Hope Village was a positive variable.

It showed him another path for the development of his territory.

He was willing to adjust his plans slowly as he observed the progress of Hope Village.

As for Barnes Village, Viscount Lancelot’s gaze deepened.

He was quite keen to see Barnes Village’s self-destruction.

Although the Lord of Barnes Village was somewhat unreliable, the territory had at least developed to Level 3 and was considered formidable.

The question was, would Hope Village be willing to join him in dividing up the territory?