Chapter 116 Planting Devil's Root
The battle was over.
The soldiers and adventurers continued to keep themselves busy.
They had to clear the trees and shrubs around the camp to create an open buffer zone without any cover.
Everyone worked diligently, knowing that the better the camp was built, the safer they would be.
Troll Valley was full of danger, with trolls and even mid to high-level magical creatures roaming everywhere.
This ogre camp would be a safe haven for everyone to rest and retreat if needed.
After dealing with the troll corpses, Old Village Chief Field approached the mysterious and powerful arcane master for advice and received the order to build the camp.
"With the way the lord is nurturing us, our territory will surely produce more spellcasters in the future!"
"There will be people as powerful as the arcane master!"
Suppressing his excitement, Field commanded the people to haul over the trees felled by the female ogres.
Old Village Chief Field expertly gave orders, cutting the trees of various sizes, trimming off the excess branches, and stacking them neatly.
He also marked the boundaries for expanding the camp, leading people to dig a small trench to outline the construction zone.
He handed over the digging work to the eager Jifan.
The female ogres, who had just finished chopping down all the large trees in the designated area and enjoyed a satisfying meal of salted fish,
saw the hundreds of captured, crippled trolls and quickly became docile.
Being alive and having food—life was already pretty good!
So, when Jifan approached with a large bag of black bread, he easily led away 40 female ogres.
They were to dig a trench around the entire camp as part of the foundation for the defensive walls.
The chubby ogre cubs followed along as well, and Jifan playfully handed them a bunch of tools, using food to entice them to start "huffing and puffing" as they learned.
"Work! Trade for bread!"
This became the ogres' new rallying cry!
Although the female ogres' work was rough and unrefined, their serious attitude was unmistakable.
To Old Village Chief Field, this was a very positive sign, and he couldn't help but think to himself:
"Kobolds are great, but they're too small and can only do light work. These ogres, on the other hand…"
Hearing this, Alice couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth:
"As expected, it's not just the lord of Bay Territory who's extraordinary; even the professionals and soldiers here are strange."
"Normally, adventurers would run the moment they see ogres!"
"Who would go after them, defeat them, capture them, and then force them to work for them?"
"And which territory's soldiers would willingly march into dangerous forests and eliminate threats before they could grow?"
Just as she was thinking this, Alice heard her teammates eagerly ask:
"Captain, while the trolls are scattered, shouldn't we go on the offensive?"
"Yeah, every captured troll is worth 50 gold coins…"
"We could use patrol duty as an excuse, head out, and finish off those fleeing trolls nearby…"
"Exactly, this opportunity won't last long—if we don't act quickly, the trolls will escape…"
"…"
Looking at her team, who were itching to hunt trolls, Alice suddenly realized.
What kind of normal adventurers would actively chase down trolls in a dangerous, dark forest?
If none of them were normal, then there was nothing strange about it!
Having thought it through, Alice chuckled to herself and led her team out on a "patrol."
While everyone else outside was busy, Matthew, inside his tent, was carefully examining the devil's root in his hand.
Its gray-brown skin was slightly wrinkled.
More than ten long roots covered its surface.
After peeling back the skin, the interior revealed grayish-white flesh.
Both in appearance and texture, it looked nearly identical to the devil's root Matthew knew.
However, in this world, its value was much higher.
After careful observation, the data display clearly provided enough information.
Devil's Root, Basic Magic Plant.
Consumption Effect: Removes low-level toxins, restores vitality/mana.
Potion Usage: Basic antidote, restoration potion, recovery potion, nutrient supplement, etc.
Habit Analysis: Prefers sunlight, thrives on excrement as fertilizer, requires earth element replenishment for rooting and growth.
Planting Requirements: Bury it 2 meters underground, 1 square meter of root, replenish about 1 kilogram of fertilizer per month, clear surface growth and add more fertilizer every three months.
Normal Yield: 300 pounds per acre every six months.
Market Price: 50 silver coins per pound!
Matthew raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise, playing with the devil's root in his hand, hardly able to believe it:
"Devil's root has a wide range of uses. It can be eaten directly or used as an ingredient for potions…"
"The key is that it can be grown in large quantities?"
"With a potential annual yield of 600 pounds per acre, it could increase even more in the future!"
"This is some valuable stuff!"
Matthew immediately thought about expanding the production of devil's root on a large scale.
In fact, if he established a special production base, devil's root could become another pillar of his overseas industry!
A yield of 600 pounds per acre could generate 300 gold coins in revenue.
For others, planting devil's root underground might be a major hassle.
Both planting and harvesting would require significant manpower and resources.
But things were different in Bay Territory—obedient kobolds meant there were virtually no labor or material costs.
Perhaps the only expense would be the consumption of earth elements to replenish the devil's root.
With 300 gold coins in value, the net profit could easily reach 250 gold coins!
An acre of land could generate 250 gold coins annually!
What about ten acres?
What about a hundred acres?
The untapped wilderness surrounding Bay Territory stretched for millions of acres!
Most importantly, devil's root wasn't like alchemical potions or magical items—it didn't rely heavily on the market or sales channels.
Even if it couldn't be sold, turning it into a nutrient supplement for the territory's professionals would still be incredibly valuable.
Moreover, what Matthew valued most was using it to build reserves, providing extra meals for the children in the territory, and nurturing more professionals!
Recruiting talent could indeed help the territory grow quickly.
But only by cultivating homegrown talent, constantly generating fresh blood, could the territory develop healthily and steadily!
In his past life, Matthew had suffered from a lack of stable foundations.
He had been on par with his enemies in terms of strength, but his unstable foundation caused him to lose everything.
This time, Matthew was determined to lay a strong foundation and maintain perfect control over his entire territory!
What you hold in your hand is what truly belongs to you!
Once his strength was firmly established, he would settle the score with them all!