Seventh Hundred and Seventy-Two Relics Arrive

Through the Listening Sigil, Roland received the results of the final Holy Duel that afternoon, as well as everything that had happened in the Scorching Lands.

He immediately summoned Maggie, Lightning, and Nana Wall to his office.

"There's a witch in Iron Sand City who's seriously injured and needs your help," Roland said, looking at the three little girls standing tall in front of him—no, two little girls and one legally little girl. "Prepare yourselves tonight and set off tomorrow. Don't fly too fast; just make it to Dragonfall Ridge before dark. You can reach Iron Sand City the day after. Ashes will be there to meet you."

"Do we both have to go?" Lightning pointed to herself and Maggie.

"That's right, I'm only at ease when you two are together," he nodded. "Besides, Maggie can't carry Nana Wall on her back alone, right? Remember to wear more clothes; flying in this weather isn't going to be easy."

Nana Wall glanced at the snow falling outside the window and couldn't help but shiver.

"Understood, we'll deliver her on time, goo!" Maggie raised her hand.

"Flying there is no problem..." Lightning pouted. "But if you're going to explore the snow mountain, you have to wait for me to come back before you start! If I miss such a great adventure, I'll cry."

Hmm, the greatest explorer crying her eyes out... that's a moment worth recording. Looking at the little girl's serious expression, Roland couldn't help but laugh. He knew that after the news that there might be ruins in the Great Snow Mountain spread, Lightning had been looking forward to it for a long time. "Of course, you are both indispensable members of the exploration team, I can guarantee that."

"Then it's settled," she relaxed and patted her chest. "Leave the injured sister to us!"

"You can also treat the other Sand People along the way, but don't stay too long," Roland finally instructed. "After Nana Wall uses up her magic power, set off to return on the same day, following the same route as when you came, understand?"

The relocation of the Tahir survivors is now nearing its end, and the snow mountain exploration is about to begin, but if Nana Wall isn't in Neverwinter City, he wouldn't dare let the numerous witches venture into that unknown land rashly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Okay."

"Goo!"

The three responded in unison.

After they left, he leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of relief.

"Does this count as successfully governing the Far Southern Lands?" Nightingale peeked out from behind him.

"It's only the first step," Roland smiled. "There's still a lot to do."

Thus, after more than a month of fighting, the desert operation finally came to a successful end.

However, the subsequent migration is the main event.

He spread out a corner of the mahogany long table map and focused his gaze on the Southern Territory of Graycastle—the matter of granting the surrendered Sand People a new oasis had been fully explained to Iron Axe before departure, and the preferred location was the border area that had lost its lord and a large population. After the continuous civil war between Timothy and Garcia, major cities such as Clearwater Port and Eagle City had been reduced to ruins, and the surrounding towns and farmland had also been destroyed.

As refugees poured into Neverwinter City, more and more land in the Southern Territory was being abandoned. Instead of leaving it there to grow grass, it would be better to let the Sand People enter the Southern Territory to cultivate, expand along the border between the desert and the green land, and rebuild Clearwater Port.

In this way, workers mining Blackwater could depart from Clearwater Port and travel by sea to the southern end of the desert—according to Iron Axe's report, most of the underground Styx rivers were located south of the Scorching Lands, and the Endless Cape area was the most common. There, there were Blackwater tributaries flowing close to the surface and very close to the coast. Compared to the dangerous land route, sailing along the coast was obviously much safer. For Neverwinter City's current technological strength, it was undoubtedly the most suitable collection location.

It might take a long time for the news to spread in the Far Southern Lands, and the clans that hear this news might not immediately go to the Southern Territory, but these were not big problems. The allure of an oasis to the Sand People was almost irresistible, even if only one or two clans, or a few hundred people, were willing to go at first.

It didn't matter. With pioneers, others would follow sooner or later and become his subjects.

There were many benefits to doing so. In addition to obtaining a lot of labor, the land would not be completely abandoned, and the restored settlements could also prevent bandits from spreading inland. Roland no longer needed to transfer a large number of people from Neverwinter City to work in the desert, and those subjects who were unwilling to leave the Southern Territory could also find a place to live.

Of course, there were also hidden dangers.

That was the issue of integrating the kingdom's citizens with the Morkin Sand People.

However, Roland wasn't too worried about this.

Leaving aside the fact that nationalism had not yet awakened, even the gods in this world were quite intriguing, lacking a strong religious atmosphere and more like pure nature worship. Both sides used the same language, and some of the Sand People's customs were less of a specialization and more of a change that had to be made to adapt to the desert. Iron Axe and Echo were the best examples; they had wandered all the way to Border Town and didn't seem too out of place.

Therefore, as long as he strictly enforced the law and meted out rewards and punishments fairly, he believed that the Morkin Sand People could also be transformed into qualified laborers.

Even if a rebellion occurred, the First Army stationed in the Southern Territory and Dragonfall Ridge wouldn't just stand by and watch.

In fact, compared to the integration problem, Roland was more concerned about the legends Iron Axe mentioned, and the mixed-breed demonic beasts that ambushed the witches during the duel. If there was no misrepresentation, the former sounded like an irresistible accident that led to the desertification of the Far Southern Lands—from a geographical point of view, this corner protruding from the continent wasn't too far from Graycastle, and it shouldn't have undergone such a different change. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough manpower to explore the Far Southern Lands at the moment, so he had to put this question aside for now.

And the behavior of the mixed-breeds was even more unbelievable—Roland had long realized that these deformed life forms possessed a certain degree of intelligence, but what exactly drove them to attack witches at the risk of their own lives? If the demonic beasts in the inland areas were besieging human cities because of the influence of the relics of the gods, then the four-winged eagles attacking witches alone was obviously not for this reason.

While Roland was pondering, Wendy and Phyllis knocked on the door and walked in. "Your Majesty, the last batch of Tahir facilities is about to arrive at the Third Border City. Pasha invites you to gather underground."

He perked up, thinking that they had finally arrived. The so-called Third Border City was an underground cave opened at the foot of the Imprisoning Mountain Range, whose function was similar to that of a city hidden underground, and was essentially a huge hidden fortress. And the last facilities were the Instruments of Divine Retribution and the relics of the gods. In order to protect their safe arrival, the First Army stationed in Neverwinter City also participated in this transport.

"What about the demonic beasts? Any movement?"

"There are no signs of a large-scale gathering for the time being."

"Is that so?" Roland stood up and said, "Then let's set off now."