Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 68
Chapter 68: The Arrival of Manid
The environment in the desert was cruel, and it was not suitable for people to live and reproduce. This was mostly due to the strong sunlight and high temperature.
Looking at the special function of the Sun Disc that could control the temperature, Kant finally understood why the Lost City could survive in the hot and desolate Nahrin Desert and became the legendary Holy City of Gold.
“But the special function only works within 500 square meters… ”
Looking at the introduction on his retina, Kant frowned.
In the current Drondheim village, the buildings already covered an area of 1,000 square meters. This did not include the area of the spring water, the 7.5 acres of wheat fields, and the 2 acres of date palm forest.
This meant that the Sun Disc could only maintain the temperature around the council hall.
“The range is too small. ”
Kant frowned. This was different from what he expected.
If the special function of the Sun Disc could cover the entire Oasis Lookout and the entire Drondheim village, the sunlight and temperature that had been mediated would definitely cause a huge change in the oasis.
At the very least, the people would not have to worry about their wheat seedlings being burned.
[ Ding… System’s notification ]
[ The rare items currently in possession are displayed as incomplete or damaged. They can be repaired. Once the rare items are complete, they will work even better and have more special functions. Remark: Please find your own way to repair it. ]
As if the system had sensed Kant’s frustration, it gave him a hint.
However, the hint was useless.
It only told Kant to solve the problem but did not specify how to solve it. The remark, “Please find your own way to repair it”, put Kant in an even more helpless position.
“This certainly gets on my nerve.”
Kant could not help but smile bitterly and shook his head helplessly.
Well, it was better than nothing.
Looking at the faint golden light at his feet, the Sun Disc was absorbing the sunlight that came in from outside the window. The originally dry and hot room had unknowingly become much cooler.
Although it was still hot, it was not as hot as before when the room felt like a steamer.
And it was in the afternoon.
The highest temperature in the Nahrin Desert was at noon.
Although the high temperature of 70 °C lasted for less than half an hour, if there were no protective measures, an ordinary person would suffer from heatstroke and dehydration within that amount of time. They would collapse miserably in the desert and become a dried corpse in the shortest time possible.
It was named the Civilization Destroyer for a reason.
Kant was here, so he naturally had profound comprehension.
“I can sleep well from now on. ” Kant smiled bitterly as he comforted himself.
At least he would not be woken up from his afternoon nap by the heat and by the cold at night.
Kant pinched the bridge of his nose and continued to pour himself a glass of water on the table to moisturize his mouth and throat. The list of data in his retina was pulled down, and a new gift pack list appeared on the dialog box.
***
[ Desert Bandits’ Camp: Military Building. Upgraded from a lair to a building made of sand and stone. Every 7 days, 10 desert bandits could be recruited. Remark: You need to own a “Desert Bandits Lair”. ]
[ Training Ground: Military Building. The ground of the plaza is compacted and paved with stones. It allows advanced troops to train troops from the lower levels, increasing their Experience Points. ]
[ Stone City Wall: Military Building. The whole wall is made of stone. The wall is 5 meters high and 2 meters wide. There is also a strong wooden gate. Currently, it can cover the whole village. The price to extend the wall is 10 Denars per meter. ]
[ Sugar Workshop: Civil Building. A small house made of wood, completed with a set of tools inside. Arrangements can be made for peasants to move in. Use raw materials to make various types of sugar. Currently available product: Date candy. ]
***
Those were the buildings.
They were the items in Kant’s four construction packs.
3 types of military buildings and 1 type of civilian building.
After checking out the introduction, Kant nodded to himself, “It fits the current situation. ”
The Desert Bandits’ Camp was an upgraded version of the stronghold. The most notable feature was the number of recruits. From one recruit per week to ten, it greatly increased the time for the Desert Bandits to form the light cavalry.
With the training ground, the soldiers from high-level troop class could train those from low-level troop class, this could improve the quality of the troops.
“As for the Stone City Wall, I finally have a defensive measure. ”
Kant had a smile on his face.
Although it was only a small stone wall of five meters in height and two meters in length, it was still a city wall.
As long as the entire “Drondheim” was surrounded and there were no siege weapons, Kant could lead his troops to defend Oasis Lookout and remain invincible.
Well, there was no water source around Oasis Lookout.
The closest water source was the well in the Jackalan tribe, which was two days away on foot.
If the enemy could not finish the battle in the shortest time possible and then immediately attack Kant’s village in one go, it would be impossible to besiege Kant for a long period. They would end up dead because of dehydration or probably because of the heat.
“However, the city wall is not an immediate concern. ”
Kant planned carefully and had come up with his own arrangements.
Currently, his enemies were not only those from the Kingdom of Grey Mane but also the noble families of the Lion Kingdom.
When his trade caravan appeared in the Lion Kingdom, the news of the Oasis Lookout being rich in table salt would spread through different countries. By then, countless merchants, speculators, and even various types of bandits would appear here.
Kant would not be so naïve that he believed that no one would covet the valuable table salt trade.
This was a world where the size of the fist ruled!
Therefore, he needed to build a sufficient city wall that would surround the village of Drondheim to protect it. At the same time, he also needed to ensure that the development of the village would not be hindered and restricted by the construction of the city wall.
After all, while the city wall protected the village, it also divided the area.
Moreover, the enemy was nowhere near the village yet, so Kant did not plan to rush the construction of the city wall.
Development was the most important element.
On his retina, Kant looked at the last building, and his eyes lit up a little.
“Sugar Workshop? ”
He softly read out the name, he seemed to be deep in thought.
In this world, spices and refined white salt were not the only luxury goods, high-quality sugar also had high demand. They were the things that noble families and big merchants flocked to, they would spend silver coins on them.
Snow-white sugar sometimes had the same value as spices, and it was more valuable than white salt.
As for the sugar in the Lion Kingdom, most of it was bought from the Elves, the price was also shockingly high. It was not something that ordinary people and nobles or knights of lower ranks could afford.
The only things that could provide sugar were the apples that grew in the forest or the berries that grew in the bushes.
The sugar remained in the fruits, that was why it was not really sugar.
“Date palm sugar seems to be very interesting. ”
Kant licked the corner of his mouth.
Date palm contained a lot of sugar, and it was indeed a good choice of raw material to make sugar.
He knew that date palm that was dried and ground into powder was already the most basic form of date palm sugar. If he could add some honey and boil the dates a little, they could even be made into very sweet sugar cubes, and the taste was quite delicious.
Kant thought of the date palms that had been dried in the warehouse and smiled.
He suddenly realized that, apart from the table salt trade, he could also start up a sugar trade.
The Lion Kingdom had a large market for high-quality products. After all, Kant knew that the kingdom was made up of mostly plains and hills that did not produce table salt or sugar. Most importantly, this world did not know the concept of dumping.
The cheaper the products were cheap, the more popular it would be, and hence would sell well.
It was very simple.
Kant already had a candidate in mind for the leader of the caravan.
Firentis was an outstanding commander of the Swadian Army, but when it came to business activities, he was no match to this professional businessman called Manid who came from a traditional business family in the Kingdom of Nord.
The card in his head turned into a golden light and shattered into pieces.
And just behind the dune not far from Oasis Lookout, a figure who was riding a packhorse and carrying a backpack appeared.
Soon, the soldier on the watchtower noticed him.
Five Sarrandian Horsemen rode over and brought him back after a simple conversation.
Watching Manid and the five Sarrandian Horsemen approach slowly riding their horses, Kant walked toward the window, holding a cup of water with a smile on the corners of his mouth. The man who would lead his caravan was here.
“Get your spirits up! ”
Firentis’ voice rang out. He was assigning the patrolling tasks to the members of the troops.
Kant opened his mouth and said to him, “Firentis, take good care of Manid. I think you recognize him. ”
“Manid? Oh, that handsome businessman? ”
Firentis was a little startled. He raised his head and looked at Kant. He then nodded and said, “Of course, I know him. I used to work with him in Kulau, we beat up a few drunkards who were looking for trouble. ”
“From the sound of it, I can tell that you’re good at your job. ”
Kant took a sip of the water and nodded with a smile, “From now on, he will be the leader of our caravan. ”
On the Continent of Caradia, Firentis and Manid got along well. They were both heroes who refused to rob civilians and caravans. Moreover, one of them was born to a noble family while the other in a merchant family, they had similar interests.
