226: Chapter 133, Coal Mine_3 226: Chapter 133, Coal Mine_3 The plan of “reclaiming one hundred thousand acres” had completed two-thirds during the first half of the year, and if it weren’t for the locust plague that stalled progress, the task would’ve easily been accomplished ahead of schedule.

However, Master Hudson conveniently ignored the unforeseen circumstance of the plague.

The initial plan remained unchanged, and the rewards were still just as valid.

If you want them, then keep on working!

After toiling for more than half a year, if they were to give up now, all their efforts would’ve been in vain.

Most importantly, none of the Baojia Leaders wanted to be the last.

Just imagine the disaster if everyone else is working hard, and only your own team failed impressively and ends up last.

With the system working effectively, Hudson saw no need to add more to it.

He shifted his focus on the swampy field development.

The swamp development, which was originally progressing at a snail’s pace, sped up tenfold with Uncle Bear’s addition to the crew.

The only issue was that Belsden was pretty temperamental.

He had agreed to drop by every ten days or half a month but ended up almost daily at the construction site.

To soothe the “bear” hearts, Hudson, acting as a spiritual guide, accompanied them daily, while simultaneously overseeing the work.

Whether it was overseeing the slaves’ work or Uncle Bear’s didn’t matter.

Having fallen into the pit, it was too late for regrets.

The cruel reality made Belsden realise that he had to swallow hard the boastful claims he had made before, even if they knocked his teeth out.

Who could blame him, the swamps were really treacherous, right?

The Solidification Magic could cover several miles at once without a problem, but only on the surface soil.

The swamp mud was over a dozen meters deep, naturally reducing the magic’s effective range.

To increase speed, Belsden usually needed to cast magic to create a crack in the swamp mud, making it easier for the orc slaves to dig.

The worst part was that over twenty thousand orcs, divided into more than two hundred construction teams, all needed Belsden’s magical assistance.

The various small creatures hidden in the swamp also required Belsden’s intervention.

Occasionally, when they encountered special terrains that required magical assistance, it still fell on Belsden to resolve.

Though he wasn’t busy from dusk to dawn, for the most part, the young bear wasn’t idle.

Fortunately, the Earth Bear’s magical power recovery speed was rapid and Hudson was there to supplement it, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to withstand such hardship.

Primarily, it was because the young bear’s strength wasn’t enough.

If they could cast a forbidden spell, they could simply create pits in the swamp, linking them to form an artificial lake, and could further speed up the reclamation process by more than ten times.

Of course, this was all Hudson’s fantasy.

Regardless of casting multiple forbidden spells or even a singular one with the smallest power output, would completely exhaust an adult Earth Bear, needing months of rest to recover.

Several attempts to withdraw the funding were rejected by Hudson, referring to the clear terms of the written contract.

An unwilling investor ends up losing his investment.

Belsden had no choice but to grumble and work.

Profit can sway anyone, bears were no exception.

Seeing the divided plots of land and recalling his “Bear Castle Plan,” Belsden managed to maintain his determination.

The peaceful days went by uneventfully.

Hudson, who was devoted to his practice, finally advanced to become a Senior Knight.

From a Junior Knight to a Senior Knight, Baron Redman had spent a whopping fifteen years due to the lack of resources, while Hudson took less than two years.

The primary credit goes to the Mysterious Compass, but the auxiliary role of training resources also played a crucial part.

Without these resources, Hudson would’ve needed at least half a year more for the breakthrough.

Compared to knight training, advancement in the magic field was quicker.

After all, he only needed to cultivate his spiritual power and exploit magic.

Unfortunately, this rate of increase isn’t unlimited, as the spiritual power continues to grow, the auxiliary effect of the potion diminishes over time.

As a Great Magician, he can barely be considered a strongman.

If Hudson was willing to register with the Kingdom’s Magician Group, he could even start receiving a salary.

Strongmen always have privileges.

The respected magicians couldn’t bear the hardship of centralized training, and thus the Mage Corps’ training differed from the regular army.

In times of peace, they only need to serve half a year in a span of five, freely managing the rest of their time.

With further improvements in strength, the duration of the rotation period could be shortened.

If top-class strongmen arrive at work during regular periods, they needed to be paid extra, apart from their battle appearances during times of war.

“Master, the orc slaves discovered a coal mine while excavating the mud.

Lord Belsden requests your presence to discuss the ownership rights of the coal mine.”

Tom spoke in a low voice.

Discussing the ownership of the coal mine with the Lord, in his opinion, was undoubtedly a grave offense.

But when the one asking was the Earth Bear, things were different.

The title ‘Greedy Bear’ was known throughout the Alpha kingdom.

Many even wondered if Belsden had dragon lineage.

Of course, Hudson also took part in attributing to the bear’s bad reputation.

Many also suspected that he was the mastermind who incited the Earth Bear into action as an executor.

With a vast forest, one can expect to find all kinds of birds.

The same applies to magical beasts, there are such diverse magically odd species.

As a high intelligent race on the Continent of Aslante, magical beast mounts aren’t considered as slaves like orcs, they too have their own way of doing things.

Greedy ones, gamblers, lecherous ones, pranksters, beings fond of…

Odd peculiarities are common among magical beasts on the continent.

The disagreement arose mainly because Belsden’s image of greed and the positioning of the Earth Bear Tribe in people’s minds totally didn’t match.

As the epitome of laziness, never in history was there a diligent bear from the Earth Bear Tribe.

Expecting them to work to earn money was like living in a dream.

Belsden’s appearance completely shattered this routine.

They not only worked to earn money but also negotiated prices themselves.

Now taking it further, not only did Belsden negotiate with outsiders, but he also had to negotiate with his own kind – “fair discounts”.

“I understand, I will go there right away.”

Hudson reluctantly replied.

With the “bear child” he had raised, he was the only one who could tolerate it.

The fact proved once again that one should discipline a “bear child” early.

If it’s too late, you might not even win against them!

It was a tragedy for Hudson as he was the victim of oppression from the very beginning.

So, when he faced Belsden, he could only reason.

After a lot of coaxing and fooling around, a diligent bear was somehow tamed.

How unfortunate that the bear…

Let’s not mention it!

Bears walk for miles just for meat.

You can’t expect a bear to work and then feed it grass.

Discovering a coal mine is, after all, good news, depending on the type of coal.

Considering it was found in a swamp, the chances of it being used for steel production were low.

These were all minor issues to Master Hudson, who had started his career by selling inferior quality weapons.

The quality of the coal wasn’t a major concern, as long as it was coal it was sufficient.

…