Chapter 437: The Grown-Up Dragon

The sun, like a giant ruby, slowly sank into the distant horizon, casting a golden glow over Swamp Castle.

The once small town with limited development had transformed with Roning's arrival and his relentless investment of money. Now, Swamp Town not only had more residents and expanded farmland, but merchants were coming and going in an endless stream.

Unconsciously, Swamp Town had become the forward base of the Wubei Territory, the liveliest place in the north.

Omer, the population officer who had taken office months ago, along with one of his assistants, was carrying the thick population registers recently compiled toward Swamp Castle.

"Mr. Omer, why does our lord require us to gather this information?"

The sixteen-year-old assistant, Nael, had asked himself this question many times in his heart. "If these papers were sold, they could fetch a lot of grain!"

"How could our lord possibly lack such paltry paper money?"

Omer tapped the boy's head, adopting a tone of earnest instruction. "By carefully compiling detailed data on population numbers, structure, and distribution, the lord can better formulate and adjust territorial policies, strengthen law and order, and so on."

This, in fact, he had learned from Wilson, who himself had studied under Roning.

Omer looked up at the golden mountain flag waving atop the castle. He couldn't pinpoint when it started, but seeing this flag now filled him with a deep sense of familiarity.

"There's profound knowledge in this, Nael. Learn well. If you have ability, following Lord Roning will lead to a good life!"

Nael grunted an acknowledgment. "I now spend time every day learning more words!"

As they walked and talked, they entered the castle. Under Tom's guidance, they arrived at the lord's study with trepidation.

Roning offered a few encouraging words before reviewing the results of Omer's census.

Currently, under his governance were nine towns: Mountain Forest Town, Three Directions Town, Blacksoil Town, Swamp Town, Stone City, Red Mountain Town, Rapids Island, Wubei City, and Purple Lightning Territory.

Now, Purple Lightning Territory, with nearly eighty thousand people, had the largest population, while Red Mountain Town, with only twelve thousand, ranked last.

After calculation, the total population living on his territory reached 304,000 people.

A large population fuels development—this was a considerable number!

At that moment, a line of numbers appeared before Roning's eyes:

【Achievement "Population Prosperity" attained: Attribute Points +5000, Energy Essence +10000】

He quickly checked his attribute panel: 5420 Attribute Points and 10345 Energy Essence.

Though it couldn't push him to break through to the ninth level, it could already elevate the dragon to the seventh level.

Thus, the Wubei Territory gained another high-tier combatant, and not a common one.

"Wubei City's population is currently only twenty-four thousand?"

Roning examined the population numbers of various towns in the Wubei Territory. Swamp Town, with over forty thousand people, had the highest count.

Omer spoke gravely and respectfully, "Yes, sir. Recently, a large influx of people has entered the Wubei Territory, putting significant pressure on food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Particularly, Wubei City relies entirely on external towns for food and water supply, making it impossible to accommodate too many people in a short time."

"Recently, the water source in Wubei City was contaminated, leading to an outbreak that killed over ten people. Fortunately, Lord Elleron was present and promptly contained the spread."

Roning nodded. The people sent by Rulance were dispersed across several towns, likely for this reason.

The pressure from tens of thousands of people on necessities and sanitation was indeed substantial.

Honestly, Elleron, Wilson, Omer, and others had put in considerable effort to accommodate so many people.

"You've done well!"

Receiving such affirmation, Omer and his assistant Nael felt quite pleased, but Roning's next words brought immense pressure.

"In the near future, approximately one hundred thousand people will be sent to the Wubei Territory, likely disembarking at Wubei Port."

Roning said, "Go find Wilson and Chahar. Prepare to receive them."

Transporting one hundred thousand people from Sharp Corner City to the Wubei Territory over a long route would be too costly.

If shifted to sea routes, using more ships and making dozens of trips would save considerable resources.

Of course, to accommodate these one hundred thousand people, the Wubei Territory needed to prepare extensively, with food being the primary concern.

Despite increased grain production, expanded farmland, and the addition of potatoes and rice across the territory, it still couldn't meet the surge in population.

Thus, this year required purchasing substantial grain from places like Linchuan City.

Omer departed under great pressure.

Roning, using Wind Wings, ascended above Swamp Castle. As he called for Karlos, he allocated his attribute points.

After exhausting his attribute points, his Mage progression rose to (9561/15000), leaving over five thousand points short of a breakthrough.

Roning looked at his achievement tasks.

Currently, only "Slay a Ninth-Level Supernatural Unit" and "Possess a Population of Five Hundred Thousand" could grant ten thousand attribute points at once; others were less significant.

"A ninth-level supernatural unit..."

Roning searched his memory. Currently, the only ninth-level he had encountered seemed to be Bella Silva, who was not hostile.

"If I capture Moonlight Valley, perhaps I could surpass the five hundred thousand population threshold."

As he pondered, the dragon raced over from Mountain Forest Town.

"Master, what do you command?"

Roning smiled mysteriously. "You'll know soon!"

Without further ado, he glanced at Karlos's attribute panel and applied 2282 Energy Essence to him.

Instantly, the water and fire elements in the sky became unusually turbulent.

Karlos seemed to become the vortex's eye, absorbing all these agitated elements.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Roning heard powerful, colossal heartbeats, while Karlos's body suddenly underwent explosive growth!

True explosive growth!

Previously, Karlos measured just over thirteen meters in length. Now, his torso alone reached twelve meters, and with his eighteen-meter tail, his total length stretched to thirty meters!

While using his mental power to collect shed dragon scales, Roning ascended higher to overlook this massive creature whose wingspan had surged to seventy-two meters, feeling profound astonishment.

He had expected only a modest increase in size upon breakthrough, but the transformation was unexpectedly immense.

It was akin to a chronically malnourished dwarf suddenly transforming into a national-level basketball player.

This breakthrough completely freed the dragon from the constraints of its tragic experiences over centuries.

"Fortunately, we're high above; otherwise, such enormous wings would surely cause considerable disturbance."

Before Roning could finish his silent relief, Karlos, seemingly unable to suppress the euphoria from his explosive growth, opened his cavernous mouth and roared thunderously.

The sound echoed like heavenly thunder across Swamp Town. People halted their work, gazing fearfully at the sky.

"What is that?"

"Is it an eagle? Will my five little chickens be eaten?"

"Do you have any brains? Have you ever seen an eagle this large?"

Even from high altitude, people saw a substantial shadow.

Reg, now the Wubei Territory's guard officer, anxiously peered at the shadow in the sky. Instinct told him it was a magical beast, and it seemed to be the lord's dragon.

But he had seen the dragon before—it wasn't this large.

Whoosh～

Not only did Kaelos roar like a dragon, but he also spewed forth flames akin to molten magma.

These flames cascaded across the expanse, painting the entire sky crimson, akin to the fiery clouds beneath a setting sun.

This sight further sent the citizens into panic, casting aside their ploughs to seek refuge.

"Alright, Kaelos, restrain your fury!"

Rooney landed atop Kaelos's head, "Head towards the desolate marshes."

"Yes, master!" (End of Chapter)