The Fortress, originally belonging to the Dragon clan, the highest authority in the Golden Land, now welcomed its first guardian. Alina sat high on one of the eight seats, bearing the heaviest responsibility and pressure ever.
The spacious Fortress hall had eight high seats, with the other seven empty, and the central throne remained vacant.
Nearly half a year had passed since most of the Dragon Lords of the Dragon clan entered their slumber, and Alina had begun to get used to the daily grind of coming to this palace on time.
As the Governor who replaced the Red Dragon monarch and oversaw all political affairs in the Golden Land, Alina also took over Kalon's responsibilities, handling many important matters sent to her daily according to protocol.
Originally, Alina had wanted to choose another location as a temporary Governor's Mansion, but Kalon had given her the authority to guard the Fortress.
Kalon never hesitated to share his power with other Dragon Lords, which was one of the reasons Alina and Alfred were able to quickly integrate into the True Dragon, as this truly showed the demeanor of a king.
But Alina's initial pride and self-satisfaction had now turned into numbness.
"Hey, tell me, how can Kalon, as a Red Dragon, endure the loneliness and the restlessness in his bloodline, staying in this cage every day, day after day, dealing with these things that just make a True Dragon's head ache?"
Alina turned her head, looking at her head maid, Charlize, her capable assistant in handling political affairs, and asked curiously.
"The Master's heart is as deep as the abyss, and his will is as firm as steel. How can I guess the Master's thoughts, Lady Alina?"
Charlize bowed slightly and replied respectfully.
Alina pouted her lips. This intelligent maid's flattery of the Red Dragon had already made her ears numb. She took the documents that needed to be processed from Charlize's hand and read them carefully.
This was a rough census of the territory's population. According to Kalon's opinion before his slumber, Alina needed to redistribute the population around three large cities to establish a smoothly connected urban network.
Although the mobile population of the Golden Land was currently enormous, the estimated permanent population was around 50,000. The Kings Capital, having accommodated the original dependents and many relocated people, topped the list with a permanent population of 150,000.
In the development of Bay Stream City over the past few years, due to its remote location, the total population only reached around 30,000.
However, the largest number of people were still those scattered outside these cities, who opened up forests and fertile land. These residents spontaneously gathered into various villages, and according to a rough estimate, they had a population of nearly 300,000.
Thanks to the conquest of the Green Field Forest plane, a large number of elves were added, providing ample labor for the development of the territory.
Moreover, the combination of elves with humans or other races was not as difficult as between elves. Although the birth rate was not as high as that of pure human combinations, it was still far higher than the original elven race's birth rate, and a large number of elf half-bloods had been born in the past two years.
"Let's plan it according to the scale of 50,000 people per city, 3,000 people per town, and 500 people per village. Tell those officials and Scholars to determine the routes and urban planning as quickly as possible, and then submit them to me for review."
Alina tossed the document in her hand to her maid Charlize, instructing her to mark it according to her opinion, and then took out another document to read.
"This machine that can convert so-called heat energy into kinetic and potential energy looks really good. It can actually utilize most things as output power. However, currently, only those Dwarf craftsmen skilled in crafting can produce it."
Alina looked at the document and couldn't help but exclaim, "If this thing can really be mass-produced and utilized, I'm afraid Kalon's vision will not be far from realization."
"But these officials are a bit stubborn," Alina tossed the document to Charlize, who had just stopped writing, and said with dissatisfaction, "Tell them to advance both routes simultaneously. It's not like they are incompatible. If the forging technology is insufficient, magic rune technology can be used to compensate."
"Tell those officials to vigorously recruit Dwarf craftsmen, magic Scholars, and related alchemical craftsmen. Establish a new research department under the original alchemy workshop, specifically to research and improve the production of this steam-powered engine."
After the Dragon Clans Territory opened trade routes to numerous kingdoms and the Beastman Empire on the northern continent, the Dragon Clans Territory had begun to form a vast trade network through its efforts in organizing merchant groups.
Especially in refined ore processing, once this steam engine could be successfully produced, it would bring immense wealth to the Dragon Clans Territory.
Furthermore, it could also be used in the mining and construction industries. Most of the cities built in the Dragon Clans Territory were constructed from forest materials, partly because the timber resources within the territory were abundant enough.
On the other hand, if stone were used to build cities and houses, it would create immense pressure on human resources, which would be somewhat counterproductive, as other aspects of the Dragon Clans Territory's development required more human resources.
Her maid Charlize silently raised her somewhat sore wrist and continued to make annotations on the document.
"Oh, forming Elf archer warbands and Kobold and Goblin gun teams? These applications should be submitted to the military department and finally reviewed by Akzi, shouldn't they?"
Alina said with some surprise.
"According to the original procedure, all legion expansions and constructions need to be reviewed by the military department to confirm the plan, and then personally reviewed and approved by the Master," Head Maid Charlize said quietly.
"Oh, then approve it. Anyway, many of those elves skilled in archery are brave warriors, and the creation of the gun team is also conducive to diversifying the legion's combat plan."
Before Alina finished speaking, she saw the figure of the young Blue Dragon Akzi appear outside the gate of the Fortress, striding with heavy steps towards her.
"Our test has come, Alina," the young Blue Dragon Akzi's body was also slowly growing. Under the nourishment of the territory, this Blue Dragon seemed to have begun a certain degree of growth.
Faintly visible lightning marks appeared between his single horn, transforming into spiraling patterns, making the Blue Dragon's somewhat discordant large horn look like a work of art.
"What happened, Akzi?" Alina jumped down from the Black Stone Throne. This was her respect for this equally diligent companion.
"The True Dragon merchant group's outpost opened in the Orc Kingdom was razed, but the other human merchant groups loyal to the True Dragon still sent back the news."
Blue Dragon Akzi nodded to his companion. The two hard-working True Dragons were even more exhausted than Alfred and the enforcer Naxon.
"The Orc Kingdom has confirmed that most of the Dragon Lords of the True Dragon have entered slumber. They believe the opportunity has come, so they have allied with the Fishmen from the deep sea, wanting to set foot on the Golden Land and turn it into their kingdom."
The Blue Dragon Akzi bared his pale fangs and sneered, "Those Orc tribes on the grassland moved away a few years ago, getting further and further from the Dragon Clan Territory, but recently, the Kobold guards stationed at the lookout point on the grassland sent news that those Orc tribes have also started to stir."
"Although the military strength of the Orc Kingdom has not yet been confirmed, judging by the ships docked along the coast, which stretch like continuous hills, the scale is at least no less than 50,000. The merchant group's scouts are already trying their best to investigate."
Alina's expression showed no panic. She calmly said, "Perfect. The Dragon Clans Territory just happens to need a nation-founding war to unite these scattered races and make them truly identify with their country."
"However, although I have some experience in governing the territory, I don't know much about war. This will depend on you, Akzi!"
The Blue Dragon Akzi shrugged his shoulders, his two broad wings flapping like floating sails. He said with a smile, "I am good at fighting, not at war. But Kalon said that we are rulers; we don't need to be perfect, only to learn how to employ talented people."
"So I'm here to discuss with you that we need to hold a military meeting to discuss how to deal with this matter."
"Then let's hold a military meeting and see how the talented people who serve us demonstrate their abilities!" Alina also smiled. The somewhat solemn atmosphere suddenly lightened.
"Are you afraid, Akzi? In a war of this level, even True Dragons can be in danger of falling," Alinasuddenly asked softly.
"Afraid, of course I'm afraid, but I'm not afraid of death, but afraid of failing to protect the Dragon clan, just like before," Blue Dragon Akzi said word by word, "But this time, I will never back down!"