Grimjaw Mountain...

"Leone, it’s time for me to go," Gundar said. "I’ve overstayed my welcome."

"Great Uncle, you know that isn’t true," Leone replied. "You can stay here for as long as you want. In fact, how about you stay here forever as my vassal?"

"You still haven’t given up, huh?"

"Of course not."

The old man chuckled before ruffling the boy’s hair. He would have stayed if he could. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

"Great Uncle, how about you wait for a few more days?" Leone asked. "I did some bone reading earlier. The bones told me that Vlad and the representatives of the Grimhowl Tribe are on their way here."

"They are?" Gundar played with his beard after hearing Leone’s words.

As much as he didn’t want to believe the young man’s bone reading ability, it was actually very accurate.

Little did the great shaman know that the news of Vlad’s return to Grimjaw Mountain wasn’t sourced from bone reading, but from the grimoire by his side instead.

He was even aware that Vlad’s envoy had met the representatives of the Darkmane Tribe, who were also on their way to pay the ransom that was asked of them.

Leone wanted Gundar to be present so that they could have the upper hand in the negotiations. After all, even if he quietly stood on the side, it was enough to intimidate anyone from the Darkmane Tribe!

"Yes, they’ll be here in three days at most," Leone declared. "Wouldn’t it be a good idea to wait at least a few more days to meet them before you leave? Besides, I have a feeling that Vlad didn’t come alone."

At his words, Gundar played with his beard a bit more as he pondered whether he should wait or leave.

In the end, Leone managed to convince him to stay for a few more days so that he could see who Hagen had sent alongside Vlad to the Aslan Tribe.

Leone was quite happy that he managed to convince the great shaman to stay behind for a few days. However, he became happier when Maximus came to find him to tell him some good news.

"Gau!"

"Really?! That’s amazing, Max!"

The Kobold was currently the head of two digging projects. The first one was an ongoing project to carve a path through the Grimjaw Mountain Range to see what was in the east.

The other one was a path that led to the valley nestled between the mountains. Leone planned to use this land for farming and grow some crops.

Of course, he could have also tried to clear some forest land and make it suitable for farming. Yet, the constant threat of being attacked by the other tribes prevented him from committing to such an idea.

In the end, it would be for the best if he let his people cultivate land in a safer environment. The hidden valley they discovered was the perfect place to do that.

The good news that Max had shared with Leone was the fact that they managed to break through to the other side of the mountain that led to the valley.

It had come to fetch Leone, so that he could see it for himself.

Naturally, the young man didn’t waste any time and followed the Kobold to the underground tunnels.

"You’re finally here, Great Chieftain!" Kael hurriedly greeted Leone. "I have sent Russel to scout for any dangerous monsters lurking in this valley, but they found nothing."

"That’s good to hear," Leone replied with a smile.

Accompanied by Kael and the warriors that helped with the digging, Leone began to explore the valley to better understand the layout of the land.

It was a U-shaped valley with a small river at its center.

Though, there might have been a point in time when the river was several times larger than the one that was currently flowing at the valley that they had discovered. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This river was at least ten meters wide, but the flow of the current wasn’t really strong. Its deepest part was at least around two meters, which was perfect for those who knew how to swim.

All in all, it was the perfect water source for the plantation that Leone planned on building.

"Daedalus, have you completed your survey of the land?" Leone asked.

"Yes," Daedalus replied. "We can use several acres of land to plant different crops. There is also more than enough space here to build housing facilities for thousands of people. If you want, we can start building some wheat plantations right away."

Leone had already bought the blueprint of the Wheat Plantation, which cost him ten thousand BP. Although it was a bit expensive, this kind of plantation could turn any plot of land into fertile land, which was perfect for farming.

Leone had also bought some wheat seeds worth two hundred BP, bringing down his total BP down to 64,130.

The rewards he gained from his previous missions were now being put to good use for the growth of his domain. Then again, the BP he could now earn daily had risen up to 162 BP per day.

If he could increase the population of his tribe, then his BP would keep on increasing, allowing him to buy other blueprints that would be useful to his kingdom.

"Okay, let’s start building!" Leone declared.

"Activating Construction Mode!"

As soon as building mode was activated, Leone immediately saw the land divided into different sections. This allowed him to know where exactly he could build the plantation, as well as the houses that would be assigned for the workers that would manage the farm.

’I’ve already seen it many times, but I still can’t help but feel impressed every time,’ Kael thought as Leone started building houses one after the other, lining them up several meters away from the river.

After that, he built a bridge that connected to the other side of the river, where the farms would be placed.

The Plantation blueprint also contained an Irrigation blueprint, which allowed Leone to build small canals that drew water from the river to irrigate the farmland.

The Riverfang Tribe had experience in planting crops, so Kael volunteered his tribe members to manage the plantation that would serve as another food source for the Aslan Tribe.

Leone readily agreed to this arrangement because it was best to leave these to the experts.

Though, just to be on the safe side, Daedalus asked Leone to purchase a book called Farming for Beginners 101, which would allow the Riverfang Tribe to learn new techniques that will help them farm more efficiently.

It was similar to the Martial Skill that could be directly learned by any member of the Aslan Tribe as long as they were able to read the book once.

The book cost 5,000 BP, but it was a necessary expense that Leone agreed with.

[BP: 59,130]

Leone looked at the remaining BP he had. Compared to how he started, the current BP he had was quite plenty.

However, since the blueprints and skill books that he had been buying cost him five to thousands of BP each, his savings would bottom up if he didn’t spend it wisely.

After summoning twenty sacks of wheat seeds, Leone then left the management of the farm to Kael.

According to Daedalus, the crops planted on the plantation that he had created would grow two times faster than normal crops.

This would allow them to harvest multiple times each season, which was why it proposed that Leone should build multiple granaries once their stock of wood was replenished.

Hassan, who had asked Leone for permission to hide in his shadow, could only look in shock at everything his Young Master had done earlier.

The fact that Leone allowed him to see Daedalus, as well as witness how he built houses out of thin air, was proof that the young man had decided to share his secret to his protector.

Leone deemed that it would be very inconvenient to keep on hiding these matters to Hassan, who had been assigned by his mother to protect him.

Now that he knew what the young man was capable of doing, Hassan finally realized that he might have stumbled upon a secret that would make any Kingdom or tribe covet Leone’s powers, which could threaten their rule.