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Chapter 529: Cooperation is not charity
Sniffing the faint burnt smell in the air, Matthew could sense Thorne's hesitation, but he would not be "soft-hearted."
Cooperation is not charity.
The Bay Territory spent nearly 100,000 gold coins on various supplies.
Mobilized thousands of people.
Naturally, it is impossible to casually hand over the initiative.
Even if the Catacan people are straightforward and never cause trouble.
Matthew would not entrust the territory's interests, the safety of adventurers and soldiers, to their judgment.
"There are two ways to cooperate."
"First, we build a new city and hire Catacan soldiers to fight for us."
"You will receive rewards such as supplies, magical potions, food, and weapons."
"This is the price, including the cost of transportation via teleportation."
Thorne took the list, originally thinking that this way of cooperating would be very difficult.
Unexpectedly, he could "understand" those completely unfamiliar square characters and grasp their meaning.
Soldiers can select weapons and equipment on their own and enjoy three meals a day, military uniforms, potions, and other provided supplies.
Wages are distributed monthly based on abilityâentry-level, mid-level, high-level.
They can receive 500 kilograms, 1000 kilograms, or 2000 kilograms of food.
One or two finely forged steel weaponsâknives, guns, swords, or bows.
This price was tempting even to Thorne.
Occasionally, Catacan cities and tribes also engage in trade and cooperation.
The most valuable rewards are, of course, weapons and food.
But often, an operation involving hundreds of people would at most yield only a dozen or so metal weapons.
Food typically just covered travel costs plus an additional 25%.
The Bay Territory, however, covered all expenses and offered prices more than ten times higher.
In the past, Thorne would have readily agreed.
After all, having control over the initiative was always more reassuring.
But the situation was stronger than he was.
Sensing his hesitation, Matthew finished his meal, saw the Catacan soldiers delighting in the delicious food, and continued smiling as he said:
"The second way to cooperate is for us to expand this city and then extend outward."
"Within two months, we will assemble over 30,000 people here to proactively explore and clear the area."
"Catacan people can join the guard force, with the same pay as before, and we will cover everyone's meals and drinks."
"More than half of the soldiers will be under your command. We'll provide a full set of weapons, equipment, and supplies."
"Additionally, we will offer professional training for everyone."
All-inclusive food and drink?
Professional training?
Dizzy from these terms, Thorne suddenly felt a tickle in his throat and instinctively wanted to agree.
However, he held back; he needed to ask for more details.
But Matthew had no intention of continuing the conversation. He waved at Elio nearby and said:
"The entire city will be under Elio's management in the future. You two can have a good chat."
"Tell Thorne about our Bay Territory, and you can also ask adventurers about it."
"Elio, learn as much as you can about the Catacan planeâdon't overlook any details."
Prepared and ready, Elio met Thorne's wary gaze without concealing the red patterns on her body and instead immediately asked:
"Have you seen demons? Or monsters polluted by them?"
As she spoke, Elio's eyes glowed faintly red, and a peculiar sense of pressure made Thorne tense up.
Noticing Elio's clear gaze, Thorne confirmed that she had not lost her sanity. After some hesitation, he said:
"I've seen many of them; they're all very frightening."
Elio's pupils narrowed slightly. A vision of hellish rifts flashed through her mind, and after taking a deep breath, she said:
"Tell me moreâŚ"
A child holding a small knife and sword was staring intently at the adventurers' weapons and equipment, showing no fear of strangers.
Yaya took a bite of the meat, savoring its sweetness, and thought to herself:
"Wow, there's actually a kid who doesn't like delicious food!"
Noticing their eager yet hesitant gazes.
The clever Yaya's eyes darted as a special idea came to mind.
"They must never have tasted anything good, soâŚ"
Just as Yaya was about to "introduce" the food to the children.
Thorne agreed to the "second" way of cooperating.
The reason was simple: the issues of food and weapons could be overcome.
But the chance to greatly enhance combat power through a professional path was something Thorne truly didn't want to pass up.
He even started thinking that once he mastered professional abilities, he could teach them to other Catacan tribes.
Once he figured it out, Thorne shared his decision with the other Catacan soldiers.
After a brief discussion, hearing about all the terms from the Bay Territory, they each shared their opinions.
"The first option is basically impossible. We already lack combat personnelâŚ"
"Makes sense. The second option's terms are better. Isn't it just risking our lives? We're best at that."
"Are the conditions really that good? Helping us defend the city and ensuring everyone gets enough to eat?"
"It seems genuine. Without their support, we might have already suffered heavy losses."
"YeahâŚthat's true. They have more people, more resources, and following them won't be a loss."
"If we don't have to worry about food anymore, can we just focus on clearing out monsters?"
"The key is, with enough resources, more newborns can survive, and we'll have more warriors."
"That's right. Even if they stop fighting and just help us defend the city, it's worth it!"
"Joining other tribes wouldn't offer such good terms. Plus, you'd have to turn over food and loot."
"True. At least we're all humans, not like those monsters outside."
"No worries then. I just spoke with those soldiersâthey have enchanted weapons and equipment!"
"Enchanted weapons and equipment?"
"Yeah, like our boss's 'Ghost Claw' saberâsharper, sturdier, more deadlyâŚ"
"Heh, no argument. Back then, I fought for three years in Iron Knife City for a Yao Steel longsword."
"Now we can get the same weapons for free? Of course we'll do it!"
"Check the weapons and equipment. If they aren't fooling us, we'll all agree."
"Agreed!"
"âŚ"
Hearing their discussion, Thorne turned and nodded to Elio, agreeing to the second cooperation plan.
With a snap of her fingers, Elio gestured for Phyllis to send the message, then made a welcoming gesture toward Thorne:
"Show me around this city, will you?"
Thorne had just nodded when he saw mysterious lights appear in the teleportation array.
Crates of supplies were transported over.
Soldiers stepped out in neat formation.
Other Catacans, curious, were called over by the staff.
In just a few hours.
500 soldiers, 3,000 adventurers, and a large amount of supplies filled the city known as Green Fortress.
Heavy engineering golems were sent outside the city.
They collected piles of metal corpsesâunique metal pieces that would become the next task for the Bay Territory's research institute.
If studied, these could yield new alloy materials, resulting in massive profits for the Bay Territory.
Regarding the Bay Territory's plan to use magic to turn mud into stone for constructing walls, Thorne offered some suggestions for improvement.
"These eerie fungal carpets can secretly corrode ordinary stone."
"So, continuous construction and maintenance of defensive facilities will be necessary."
Indeed, these strange fungal carpets and twisted plants harbored great malice toward human structures or settlements.
They would periodically gather and launch wave after wave of attacks.
According to Thorne.
The recently repelled "mad plants" were just a hasty assembly of a temporary "green tide."
Come summer, the "green tide" that had gathered strength for a year would bring true terror and destruction.
At that time, most of the outlying cities and fortresses, after putting up some resistance, would choose to abandon them.
Their purpose was to buy time for the defense of the major core cities.
This is also why Thorne and the thousands of other Catacans did not particularly care about the ownership of this city.
After learning this, Elio adopted a different strategy.
A single wall was not enough; multiple walls would be prepared.
If one was destroyed, it would still significantly deplete the fungal carpet's area and the number of twisted plants.
Once these monsters were dealt with, the walls could be rebuilt.
As for the "green tide" expected in eight or nine months, Elio believed gathering more information would be essential for proper protection and planning.
To ensure effective wall construction.
Elio used a large amount of incendiary oil, burning the area tens of meters outside the castle into a barren wasteland.
The glowing red flames caused Dale considerable distress.
He shivered, murmuring under his breath, feeling the slight tingling and itching as his wound healed, and couldn't help saying:
"These are really good stuff, much better than the fuel oil we researchedâŚ"
"We usually use a little bit for drying and heating, which already feels like a waste, yet they use it to burn open ground."
Such a waste!
Hearing his words, Thorne, who was repairing the arrow tower, rolled his eyes inexplicably, placed a heavy crossbow at the shooting port.
He adjusted the shooting angle, admiringly stroking the crossbow's arms:
"Now this is a real piece of work. Crossbow arms made entirely of metal, unaffected by humidity."
"I hear as long as you apply protective oil on time, it'll last ten years without issues. If we could produce this weapon, the less experienced young ones wouldn't have to risk close combat."
Dale tried moving his arm, his eyes showing a hint of amazement, and he broke into hearty laughter:
"Now we can use them, can't we?"
"No matter what the Bay Territory's purpose is for coming here, they can't possibly send a million people in."
"Ultimately, no matter what they do, they can't manage without our help, so what's there to worry about?"
Hearing this, Thorne was momentarily stunned, as if suddenly understanding, and quickly nodded.
Outside the castle, construction was in full swing.
Inside the castle, Phyllis, who had brought a large batch of supplies ready for distribution, turned to the staff after meeting curious gazes and said:
"Register their families and names. If they don't have names, remember to issue them number tags."
Seeing the tall, strong Catacan people, who were not much inferior to barbarians, the staff showed plenty of patience.
They spoke gently, repeatedly informing the Catacans that once they registered and received their number tags, food could be distributed quickly.
However, to everyone's surprise.
The burly, wild Catacan people, whether male, female, young, or old, did not behave as unruly and aggressive as expected.
Instead, they were very obedient, displaying remarkable discipline.
They did exactly what was asked and were very quiet, not talking much at all.
The Catacans, in turn, viewed the staff positively.
Not only did they not shortchange their food, but they also thoughtfully confirmed their portions and made some increases.
The clothes issued to them were not only clean and fresh but also finely woven.
Compared to the clothing they hand-wove, these were several times better.
Joining this group was truly a blessing.
Seeing this harmonious scene, Phyllis examined the condition of these Catacan men, women, and children and immediately came up with many plans.
A solid foundation, disciplined, passionate about combat.
Born soldiers!
After a brief interaction, both sides were quite satisfied with each other.
In fact, with the Bay Territory's methods and policies, as long as the other party didn't show clear aversion or hostility, they would quickly integrate them.
In addition to various everyday items, the staff also thoughtfully distributed small Bay Territory booklets.
These seemingly inconspicuous booklets recorded the development history of the Bay Territory, various cuisines, and detailed policies.
Most intriguingly, they included many Eastern tales and the history of the Netheril Empire.
The illustrations and designs were highly appealing to the Catacan people.
After all, they had poured nearly all their energy into improving their combat abilities and learning how to survive in the jungle.
These leisure-time amusements were a profound shock to them.
For the first time, they realized.
There were places in the world not surrounded by jungle and "green tides."
The Bay Territory's food came in hundreds, even thousands, of varieties.
Besides humans, there were also dwarves, elves, orcs, and other intelligent beings.
For many of them, this was their first time seeing "readable" writing.
All sorts of information continuously entered their minds.
In the evening, a lavish welcoming banquet.
Unknowingly deepened their good impression of the Bay Territory.
Many Catacans were already feeling fortunate that they chose to join the Bay Territory.
Otherwise, they would never have known that a single meal could have five dishes!
Seeing the situation stabilize, Elio smiled as he spoke with Thorne beside him.
"In the coming days, our main task is to renovate the city."