To thrive, one must establish roots here. If the land is poor, reclaim wasteland; if the territory is too small, expand outward—but without people, all is in vain.
If a territory could be abandoned at any moment, who would still choose to invest in it, or settle down to farm it?
After the Minister's Assistant left, Roland summoned Carter Lannis, his Chief Knight.
"Have your men find me some local guards, hunters, or farmers who've lived here for over five years and survived the Evil Beast's Month. Preferably someone who's battled the monster before." Knight took the order and left. Roland rubbed his forehead and kept poring over the compiled data.
Border Town's primary exports are minerals and animal hides, with grain being the bulk import. All shipments are transported directly via the Chishui River to either Changge Fortress or Liuye Town. The mineral resources include various ores—iron, copper, sulfur, quartz, rubies, sapphires...—far exceeding the concept of associated minerals. This reminded him of Anna's remark: 'The North Slope Mines are said to have been the lair of unknown underground creatures, and even now, the exact number of tunnels at the mine's base remains unexplored.'
When examining the grain section, Roland frowned. Most of the ore had been sold to the Long Song Fortress, but instead of paying with the Kingdom's Golden Dragon, they settled for grain. Gemstones should have been considered luxuries, yet after years of trading, Border Town had neither accumulated surplus grain nor surplus fiscal revenue.
In other words, Border Town's annual mining output barely sufficed to feed its two thousand residents for a year. Given that the Lord of this land was originally from the Duke of Nagano's lineage before Prince's airborne arrival, their self-sufficiency was understandable. To them, any surplus grain meant nothing more than a free hand for the monstrous beasts.
The fur trade was a local livelihood. The people ventured west into the misty forests to hunt birds and beasts, selling their hides either to buyers at Changge Fortress or to residents of Liuye Town. Border Town imposed no taxes on this trade, as it was impossible to regulate.
Roland pondered. Since he had come, the ore output could no longer be offset by grain. The branches of the Chishui River ran through nearly the entire kingdom, making transportation relatively unimpeded. With this vital supply line, even if the Changge Fortress stopped providing grain, he could still procure it from other sources.
The premise is that he can hold off those damn monsters here in Border Town.
Carter acted swiftly. The next day, he summoned two guards and a local hunter. "These two are the patrol captains of Border Town, responsible for lighting the annual beacon fires. This hunter claimed to have fought evil beasts and personally severed one of their heads," Carter said. The three men bowed in unison.
Roland nodded and told them to step aside. Then he went up one by one to speak.
"Your Highness..." The first guard to be summoned stammered nervously. "Brian and I are... well, we're from here. After the snowfall, we'll head to the beacon tower at North Slope Mines. That's where we can... spot the demonic beasts first. If they breach the Maze Forest, we'll light the beacon and retreat via the path, then board the fast boats we've prepared." "Since we're together, let's have you answer," Roland said, shaking his head. "What do those demonic beasts look like? Can they be killed?" The other guard, though equally nervous, spoke more clearly. "Your Royal Highness, they can be. They're originally just ordinary forest creatures. Though infected by the hellish aura, they've become ferocious and dangerous—but still killable. After the Demon Month each year, the Long Song Fortress dispatches cavalry to clear the remaining demons from the land route to Border Town." "How long does the Demon Month last?" "It usually lasts two to three months... depending on the sun," Brian replied.
"Look at the sun?" Roland asked in confusion.
"Yes," the guard explained, "Your Highness has only recently arrived and is therefore unaware. In Border Town, snowfall never ceases until the sun returns its radiance and the snow melts." "Does the Demon's Moon end only when the snow melts?" Roland mused. At least in Graycastle, the snow didn't melt like this—it would typically clear the next day, and the sun showed no change.
"That's exactly it. The longest Demon Month I've ever experienced was two years ago, lasting nearly four months—many people couldn't survive it." "Why doesn't the Chōge Fortress even have a month's worth of food reserves?" Roland asked.
Brian's expression darkened. "They had some. But the supply officer, Fereno, said our autumn ore would only last three months. The fourth month's ration would have to wait for the next batch. With the Demon's Month still ongoing, we couldn't leave the fortress." "I see... I understand." What a fool to cut himself off from the people. If the Long Song Fortress treated these border folk with spring-like warmth, keeping them might be hard. But now it seemed those huddled behind the walls weren't exactly good people either. Roland called the last person forward with a blank expression, but mentally he'd already memorized the name.
The third man was a burly, muscular figure who stood nearly six feet tall when upright, which put Roland under considerable pressure. Fortunately, he immediately knelt down as soon as he approached.
"You claimed to have slain demonic beasts?" "Yes, Your Highness," his voice grew hoarse, "a wild boar hybrid and a wolf hybrid." "A 'hybrid'?" Roland repeated. "What does that mean?" "This is how the Orionians refer to demonic creatures, Your Highness. The more ferocious an animal was before mutation, the harder it becomes to handle afterward. They amplify their physical advantages exponentially. Take the wild boar hybrid—its back fur is so tough that even crossbow bolts can't penetrate from fifty meters away. The wolf hybrid is even more cunning, with astonishing speed. Traps must be set up in advance to kill it." "Stronger becomes stronger, faster becomes faster," Roland nodded. "But they're still animals." "Exactly. They're not the most terrifying enemies," the Orionian swallowed. "The real nightmare is the hybrid." "They're the embodiment of the Devil. Only hell could create such monstrous beasts. I once saw a hybrid with beastly limbs and a pair of massive wings for short-range flight. It seemed to know where I was, chasing me relentlessly no matter how I hid. It wasn't hunting, Your Highness—it was just playing with prey." The Orionian lifted his robe, revealing a massive scar stretching from his abdomen to his chest. "I jumped into the Crimson River before losing consciousness, which saved me." "Who knew there were such monsters?" Roland thought the world was growing more fantastical. A solid wall could block all ordinary evil beasts, but what about flying ones? "Mixed-type ones must be rare, right?"