Chapter 74 The Direction Of Next Six Months Of Development.
William knew what his shortcoming was.
It was not his combat power as it required experience and time, and not his slow rate of improvement either. The thing he lacked was influence and power.
During the initial stage of the game, it was futile to depend on the players. He was previously a player. How could he not know a player's psyche?
The players aligned themselves with the powerful and preyed on the weak. They would join the faction providing them the best benefits…
William always thought he was handsome and was very popular with other people.
But, it was not reliable to depend on an appealing face. It would only attract female players with low combat power. It served nothing towards his ambitious plans.
All these were the reasons why William had focused all his efforts to develop the City of Dawn.
What dangers still remained for the City of Dawn?
First, the occupied land was small. It was mostly forested, and the arable land was limited.
Second, there were generous ore resources in the city, but he did not want to divulge the information. As the players talked about, there were many BOSSES in the City of Dawn owing to its dense population. Hence, the city could easily be discovered by the players.
William knew his limits. It was enough for two human nations to have two super professionals and seven Legendary and Epic NPCs…
His power was still not comparable to the two human nations. If they got to know about his precious ores, war and devastation in his territory would be inevitable.
Third, the city's population was too small. Even though he purchased some slaves every month, only about 60,000 people occupied the City of Dawn. The army had 4,000 soldiers and 800 mercenaries. Even counting the newly admitted 800 Tauren Warriors, he had only 5,600 combatants.
Although the level and equipment of his army were formidable, it was unable to defeat enemies significantly superior in numbers.
Fourth, many of his soldiers had a weak foundation. If William reached the upper limit of the game version, Advanced professional, then he could fend off a large army single-handedly.
"Since that's the case…" William sat at the helm of the conference hall and surveyed his officials. He said in a deep voice, "There are two paths laid out in front of us. We can either choose to develop our elites or increase our soldiers to expand our army.
"Once the two human nations start the war, we will not be able to escape it. Due to our geographical location, we will be embroiled in the conflict whether we want it or not."
Alec looked in adulation at William and said, "Your words are right on point, my lord. The intel organization that you wanted me to create had obtained some information. The Iron Dukedom and Black Lava Dukedom are indeed on the verge of war.
"Even if circumstances cause a delay in the war, it will still formally commence half a year later. We remain vulnerable in any case. The two nations, being as ambitious as they are, will force us to choose sides. Regardless of which we align ourselves with, we'll suffer significant losses.
"There's another important intelligence. Iron Dukedom has deployed many spies in the City of Dawn. But we don't know their intention."
Alec glanced at Odom, who was in charge of security and logistics of the city. It seemed as if he had an intention to place blame on Odom.
"My lord, I don't know that spies had infiltrated our city. This is my fault. I'm willing to accept any punishment." Odom looked at Alec as he stood up and bowed in deference.
William nodded without any emotion and said, "You've erred. The next three months of your salary will be your penalty. You don't have to be concerned about the spies either. As long as you manage the new residents properly, I'll increase your wage next year."
"Thank you for your graciousness, my lord" Odom smiled and raised his brow complacently at Alec.
With his gesture, Odom was insinuating that he was the favorite confidante of the Lord. Alec should join the long queue if he wanted to replace him.
Odom swung his golden wavy hair and sat down slowly.
A great ruler must balance magnanimity with discipline and should carry out appropriate punishment.
Great power could rule over people, but it could not win over the hearts.
William believed that he had great talents, but they were not everything. He was unable to read the thoughts of other people. It was not accurate enough to depend on opinions, unless…
Lautner said with concern, "If we expand our army on a large scale, the City of Dawn will not be able to sustain the expenses!"
"We'll have to find other ways." William unrolled a cloth map behind him. It was a new map.
It covered a small area, but it was very detailed. All the cities, mountains, rivers, lakes and the various power centers at the southeastern corner were mentioned.
He unsheathed the Sword of Thunder and pointed at the seaside beach that was south of the Rainbow Lake. "The future expansion route of the City of Dawn will be the surrounding areas and the region along the sea."
Hearing William's words, Lautner, Odom, Alec, and Eric, all the Epic level officials, became astonished.
They could understand the expansion on land.
But the sea?
What was there to expand on?
William noticed their expressions and knew what they were thinking. He said decisively, "Perhaps, you've forgotten this. But recall, a long time ago, our Legendary continent was just a small piece of the Gods' continent.
"Frequent wars tore apart the Gods' continent. Besides the other vast continents, there were many islands in the sea.
"The direction of our development in the next six months will be Seafaring and fishing.
"Our food production is not so high as to support a large army. But I found my father's map, and he indicated something on it. A resource-rich island, located a few hundred nautical miles south of us.
"Developing the seafaring and fishing industry would be very advantageous for us. Also, the seafood obtained will reduce our severe shortage of food ration."
The four of them looked at each other and smiled helplessly. After all, William had mentioned his father. They were unable to reject his proposal now, as it would be impolite to the deceased.
Lautner warily asked, "What does my lord suggest?"
"We'll develop a nautical industry. We also need to construct a southern mountain path from Rainbow Lake. Start on it tomorrow!"
"But we don't have people who can construct ships in the City of Dawn. It makes warships out of the question…" Those who experienced the sea would be daunted by the large rolling waves.
The boundless sea, the unfathomable weather, the Legendary sea creatures, any of them was sufficient to create fear in the land races. The Epic Lautner was extremely frightened.
"I've to depend on Uncle Lautner for help…" William smiled as he looked at Lautner.
Lautner panicked. What did William say?
He was most frightened of that word, Uncle…
It was a pity he was trapped in the conference hall, unable to escape.
He asked in a hoarse voice, "How can I help, my lord?"
"Tomorrow, accompany me to Dark Night City. Whether it takes a kidnapping, stealing, or even robbery, we have to obtain a shipbuilding blueprint or a shipbuilder." Lautner's face turned dark while his hands tried frantically to grope for a safe spot…
The other three officials stared wide-eyed with their glinting eyes!
The Legendary Dark Night City.
The city that had a few million Elves.
In the Blackleaf forest alone, at least a third of the pure-blood Elves lived in this wooded city.
There were tens of thousands of Potions Fairies…
And humongous Diamond Dragons, Metal Dragons and Silver Dragons…
And the Sacred Blackleaf Tree, the pride of all the Blackleaf Elves.
Rumours were that the Sacred Blackleaf Tree was an immensely tall tree located within the city. It was tens of thousands of meters tall.
However, no matter how legendary and mythical the city sounded, to the outsiders, it was just a rare phenomenon.
Ordinary people were not able to locate this city!
William expressed his intention in his words!
He wanted to rebuild a relationship with Dark Night City!
But the difficulty…
It could just be ascertained by looking at the grimacing aged face of Lautner.
