Chapter 104: [104] Farmlands (2)

’Those fools again? Just how much will they meddle in Artaris’ affairs?’ Eliron thought, feeling a lump in his stomach.

“Huh? Forbidden from farming? How does that even make sense?” Yennefer asked, saying the question on Eliron’s mind.

She floated to Eliron’s side and directed her attention to Tang. “Farming is basically a necessity for life, telling someone not to farm is like telling them to die.”

“I am telling the truth, this information was passed onto me by my ancestors and the former clan head.” Tang said.

“We were told to never farm out of the borders of this land.”

Ash sighed. “He’s right, my lord… from my understanding, years ago when our civilization fell, and the high elves declared the forest a free gift of nature…”

“They claimed we could not monopolise the land, and created a series of rules to keep us in check. This was one of them.”

Eliron listened to everything Ash said with a calm demeanour, but inside, he was boiling!

Not only had they taken everything from them years ago, the High Elves had also set up foolish rules to ensure that they never prospered!

The land they had cut out for them was not exactly terrible, it was just enough. But that was the problem.

If your farming lands were just enough for you and your population to not starve, then it canceled out the possibility of trade with another nation.

The high elves were trying to make sure Artaris remained an unknown village, a place that would never see the light of day!

Eliron breathed out, slowly calming himself.

“How would they know if we farmed in another piece of land? Surely they are not omnipresent.”

Ash nodded.

“True. But the high elves conduct routine checks whenever harvest season is near. If they find out that we went past our boundaries, they would confiscate the produce.”

“I see…”

Eliron remembered that the high elves did make visits to Artaris once in a while, but at that time, he was hardly the person he was now.

His brother always hid him during those visits, and he never bothered to find out why they came.

’This is a complicated matter…’

If Artaris was to grow, they needed to boost their food production exponentially.

Of course, they could find another thing to export and boost the economy of the village. Eliron even had a few ideas already.

From their proceeds, they could just order food. Many modern nations back on Earth lived without having to produce a quarter of what their population needed.

But anyone who controls the food supply of a people effectively controls them. There was no doubt that the high elves would find a way to use this against them.

Breaking the rules was also not exactly plausible…

Eliron was sure he would do pretty well in a fight with the high elves. He could probably even take five at a time, depending on their level.

But the same could not be said about the others.

He had already pissed off Galanhad by stealing his slave and wyvern…

’Galanhad probably thinks either I killed them, or Sabrina committed suicide, taking the wyvern along with her out of spite…’

But that reason alone was not enough to attack Artaris, otherwise they would stain their ’righteous’ reputation among the other races.

Breaking this rule would give them a justifiable reason to invade Artaris, and Eliron could not imagine any scenario where it would go well.

The wood elves were still a weak bunch. What would happen to them while he was occupied fighting their century-old mages and knights?

Utter obliteration.

This time, the high elves would make it so that the wood elves would never rise again.

’We have to make this land usable while we think of an alternative.’

The time to confront them would come, but it was hardly time for it.

“Do you already use compost?”

Although it was better to switch farming locations once every few years to give the land time to recuperate…

Using one piece of land was not a problem if you knew how to get the most out of it. If you perfected this art, then you could farm on it for years unending…

“We have, but this land has been worked to the bone… I even feel bad for it.” Master Tang leaned down and grabbed a handful of dirt.

“It is only natural that the yield would drop every now and then.”

Eliron sighed. “Did no one try to appeal this law?”

“They did…” Master Tang sighed. “We were given another piece of land, but… well, let’s go there first. You’ll understand when we arrive.”

Following Master Tang’s directions, Eliron ended up taking a crooked path that led him deep into the forest, and after walking for several minutes, they finally arrived at the location.

The soil was so waterlogged that the wrong step would send your foot six inches deep. The air was extremely humid, and even the trees here were scarce, allowing the sun to shine down on the land.

But it was anything but pleasing to the eyes…

“Ew, this place is even more disgusting…” Yennefer complained, hovering high up above the floor.

Tiny stood at a distance, unwilling to come even an inch closer.

“Aren’t these…” Ash’s nose flared as he gritted his teeth.

“Marshlands, yes, this is the land we were given.” Master Tang said in a low tone.

“Although these lands are rather fertile and extremely vast, they are impossible to work with.

“Our crops can hardly keep upright with so much water in the soil, the roots will rot, and the lack of air underwater practically strangles them.”

After their complaint, the High Elven bastards decided to mock them by giving them permission to cultivate a wasteland.

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair as he turned to face Eliron.

“You see, my lord, these lands are impossible to—” Master Tang froze when he saw the look on Eliron’s face.

He had a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear, and his hands were clasped together like a devious mastermind plotting his next scheme.

“M-my lord? Are you alright—”

“This is perfect!”

“P-pardon me?”

Eliron glanced at Yennefer, and she gave him a knowing look, a small smile on her face as she nodded.

That was because only the two of them realised the golden goose that had been placed in their hands. All because of the foolishness of the high elves.

If they wanted to cripple their agriculture, then they went a terrible way about it. Because Eliron had the answer to their incompetence…

A crop he could not count the number of times he had eaten it back in Korea. And since he knew all the recipes, making it a staple here in Artaris would be child’s play.

’Rice, Asia’s super food!’

Rice was a crop that blossomed in these conditions. In fact, it craved that sort of land.

It was a largely unknown crop in this part of the continent, that was why the high elves had not thought about it.

But Eliron knew exactly where to find this crop.

Donia Kingdom.

Eliron turned to Yennefer and Ash and smiled. “It looks like we are going on a field trip soon…”

Both Ash and the farmer looked confused, but Eliron was too busy thinking to explain.

’There is one issue with going to Donia…

If Eliron remembered correctly, this was the worst time to visit the kingdom.

In this arc of the original novel… Donia was under raid by none other than the Lord of the Dead.

One of the 12 Titans in the story, the very people the novel was named after…’

Ding!

— — – 「Act Two」 – — —

[Title: What A Bountiful Harvest!]

~> Objective: Fix Artaris’ farming issue and harvest your very first crop in the marshlands.

「Rewards」

◆ +30 Stat Points

◆ +20 EP

Eliron sighed as he read the screen.

’The things I do for these elves…’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep