Chapter 485: Chapter 458: Planning

The night was deep.

Wushan Castle, bustling with activity all day, finally fell quiet. Ronin’s wedding chamber was silent as well.

Blanche had already fallen into a deep sleep in Ronin’s arms.

Although she was a Senior Mage, a Transcendent, a Mage’s physical constitution was never particularly strong. Coupled with a busy day, she was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open.

Ronin felt the smoothness of her skin pressed against him. As he gazed at her bare shoulder, the passionate scene from moments before replayed in his mind, and an unconscious smile touched his lips.

He gently kissed her forehead, then quietly rose and walked to the window.

Outside, the starry sky was brilliant, seemingly within arm’s reach.

Ronin took a deep breath, savoring the cool night air and the faint scent of flowers drifting in. A sense of heroic ambition surged within him.

’I’ve finally established a firm foothold in this Otherworld.’

Although his power was only at the Ninth Level, it was more than enough to be considered top-tier on the Orland Continent.

Beyond his personal strength, he held the titles of Kingdom Marquis and King’s Son-in-Law, and he had powerful allies backing him.

The various nobles of Wushan Territory, for instance, were unwavering supporters of Lurans. Now that Lurans was giving Ronin his full support, they naturally followed suit.

Although the minor nobles surrounding Moonlight Valley also had decent relations with nobles like Ference, fence-sitting was a common Trait of the lesser nobility.

As long as no major catastrophes befell Ronin’s side, they wouldn’t dare to make an enemy of him. After all, who would willingly pass up money and resources?

Ronin also had supporters and partners among the highest echelons of the nobility.

First, the Kingdom’s most powerful Great Mage, Bellora, had already agreed to cooperate with Wubei Territory. She had even expressed an interest in going to the Crescent Continent and the City of Dawn during a later conversation with Sophia.

Second, thanks to Elron’s recent visit, the Gistana Duchy had also reached an agreement with Wubei Territory for a joint project to cultivate Flame Grass.

Furthermore, at Elron’s suggestion, Duke Valgis had agreed to entrust his frail grandson, Gano, to Elron’s personal care and to dispatch several Knights to Wubei Territory to attend to him.

This gesture was a clear signal to the outside world of the close ties between the two factions.

Considering these developments, the Ference Duchy, the Villa Duchy, and Screaming Island would likely no longer dare to act as brazenly as they had before.

With the situation stabilized, Ronin could now devote himself wholeheartedly to development.

In the beginning, he had focused on porcelain and silk. By now, both products had been showcased on numerous occasions and had won the favor of the nobility. He could now leave their future promotion and sales entirely to his territory’s commerce officials.

At this stage, however, Ronin was less concerned with commercial goods and more focused on the applications of the steam engine.

This was the foundation of the industrial revolution and the beginning of the territory’s industrialization.

Beyond the confirmed projects like steamships, steam trains, and transport railways, the application of steam power in fields such as textiles, mining, and metal smelting also needed to be explored.

Not that Ronin had to do everything himself. After all, he had provided the concept, the first steam engine already existed, and people like Simon, Sophia, and even the Mages and scholars from Crystal City could suggest improvements based on that foundation.

Most of the commoners were illiterate, but the elites at the top were certainly intelligent.

The only problem, however, was that for now, only Ronin, Sophia, and Carlos could manufacture the steam engine’s core components. Simon and the other craftsmen lacked the ability to perform the necessary precision machining.

Only after the craftsmen’s technical skills improved and better manufacturing equipment became available could Ronin and the others be freed from this task.

In addition to development, preparations for war also had to be put on the agenda.

For Ronin, deploying troops to the Tricia Kingdom wasn’t just about elevating his Noble Title to gain Attribute Points or laying the groundwork for establishing his own Kingdom; it was also about eliminating the Alien Race that had taken root in the enemy nation.

To counter the threat from the Alien Race, Ronin had already consulted in detail with Ridder and Sophia. They decided to dispatch Harmon Knight, who excelled at Concealment and intelligence gathering. He would leave Moonlight Valley and travel to the Molten Fire Duchy to investigate the situation. At the same time, he would establish an intelligence network for Wubei Territory within the Tricia Kingdom.

That way, if a situation arose, Ronin and his people wouldn’t be completely in the dark, forced to rely solely on intelligence from the Royal Family.

Lurans had already been burned by false intelligence once, and Ronin had no intention of letting it happen again.

"Ronin, why aren’t you sleeping yet? What are you thinking about?"

Blanche’s soft call pulled Ronin’s attention back from his thoughts.

He turned and saw her sitting up in bed, propped on her arms. The large expanse of her pale, smooth skin was incredibly alluring.

"I was thinking about when we might have a child."

He walked over to the bed. "How about we do a little more ’cultivating’?"

Blanche lowered her head shyly, clutching the sheet. "I... I’m a little sore," she stammered. "I don’t think I can... Maybe tomorrow? Let’s wait until tomorrow?"

"Hahaha!"

Ronin climbed back into bed and pulled her into his arms. "I’m just teasing," he said, holding her as they lay down. "We have all the time in the world. We can wait until you’ve recovered."

The two fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning, after breakfast, Dianey took Blanche and the castle steward to take inventory of the wedding gifts from the various nobles.

Ronin had always left this kind of work to his officials. He only needed to be informed of the final tally.

But now that the territory had a lady, it was only natural for her to oversee financial matters.

Besides, Blanche was a Royal Princess by birth and had received an education far superior to anyone else’s. Her capabilities in various fields were certainly no less than those of men like Wilson or Chahar, who had not been formally trained for their positions.

Since she was willing to handle these matters, Ronin was both reassured and glad to be free of the burden.

Meanwhile, Ronin, accompanied by Lurans, convened a territorial assembly in the fortress of Wushan Castle.

In fact, the previous night’s banquet had not only been a celebration of Ronin and Blanche’s wedding but had also served as a platform for the many nobles of Wushan Territory to engage with Ronin.

What they all sought, ultimately, was to cooperate with Ronin.

After all, Moonlight Valley was vast, with plenty of unused land and vacant buildings. If Ronin was willing to cooperate with other nobles, surely he wouldn’t exclude the nobles of Wushan Territory.

Ronin, of course, agreed to this.

To him, cooperation was cooperation, regardless of the partner.

Ultimately, what he needed was more food and labor. As long as the people the nobles sent over would obey his commands and deployments, a basis for cooperation existed.

However, after a round of negotiations, Ronin increasingly felt that the current social structure was limiting his development. The fact that nobles controlled all the affairs—and even the populations—of their respective territories was a major constraint.

’Just imagine how wonderful it would be,’ he mused, ’if the populations of all the towns in Wushan Territory could be mobilized at will.’

Ultimately, the system of noble enfeoffment was what restricted his actions.

Thus, after much consideration, Ronin decided that if he were to grant fiefs in the future, certain powers would not be delegated.

It would be best to adopt a system of benefices, granting nobles or subjects of great merit a certain amount of land. They would be entitled to the revenue from that land but would not possess political or administrative authority over the region.

However, reform wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight. For now, Ronin could only operate within the existing social framework. He would wait until his power was more secure, or until the time came to found his own kingdom, before gradually implementing these more profound changes.

Besides, he had plenty of time. A Proud Sun Knight, in theory, had a lifespan of two centuries. He was in no rush.

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