Chapter 222: That’s Good
Then, to the northwest, he drew the ranching plains.
Here, he envisioned open corrals, reinforced pens carved into the stone, separated by layered ridges. Not for cattle, but for tad beasts, dosticated Ravager kin, herd-mutants bred for at and hide, and maybe the ashdrakes if he could crack the breeding formula without them tearing everything apart.
He carved a large spiral structure at the heart of this zone: the Beastmaster Spire. A watchtower and training ground. Overseen by either Krell or a specialized handler, if he could find one with enough instinct to control what he planned to raise.
He added feed stations and butchering pits at the edges of each cluster, connected by underground haulers that would carry the harvested at directly to the city’s cold storage.
Finally, he marked the entire outer ring with defensive formations: stone palisades, hidden trenches, and marks for Elvira to put more magical trap in case of invasion. These farms and ranches weren’t just for feeding the city.
Ben stepped back from the chisel again, his chest rising with a long, slow breath.
He cracked his knuckles and muttered, “Now all I need is workers… and ti.”
The next day, Ben sat at the head of the obsidian council table. On his right, Zarnak stood at attention. Across from them sat Vaelis Drakthar, Shalvrak’s representative.
After quick greeting he had given him the developnt plan for the city.
Vaelis bowed slightly, silver-edged cloak brushing the stone floor. “Lord Tzarek,” he greeted with that familiar velvet tone, “as requested, I’ve compiled the numbers from the enclave. We’ve tallied every able-bodied Shalvrak, laborers, masons, smiths, handlers.”
Ben gave a curt nod. “And?”
Vaelis hesitated, then offered the stone-scroll ledger with both hands.
“Even if we include the entire Shalvrak workforce, working without pause… we’ll be able to complete maybe ten percent of your outer expansion in a year. Everything else? At our current rate, a decade.”
Ben’s jaw tensed.
Ten years. Too slow. “I need it done in one,” he said.
Vaelis didn’t flinch. “With respect, Lord Tzarek, we don’t have the bodies for that. Everyone are already working to capacity.
The forge crews are cycling non-stop. Unless you wish to import builders from outside the walls…”
Ben clicked his tongue. ‘So it’s like this after all…’
He stepped away from the table, gazing at the map of Krahal-Zir stretched across the floor. He’d already carved every sector, every ring of industry and leisure.
His gaze darkened.
‘Guess I’ll need to start producing those golems after all…’
“Thank you, Vaelis,” Ben said, voice low. “Continue preparing for the construction. We’ll be supplenting your efforts soon.”
“Pardon Lord, but with what?” Vaelis asked, curiosity laced in his voice.
Ben smiled faintly.
“That’s my problem to worry about, now just do what you need.”
After so more talk Vaelis excused himself. Zarnak than give Ben update on current situation, the cri is still not decreasing, and despite he now could focus to maintain order inside the city, he still don’t have enough people.
Ben’s brow furrowed. “Any room to expand conscription?”
Zarnak shook his head. “Barely. If we press any harder, we’ll strip essential workers from the other sectors. Water, food, sanitation… everything would start to break down.”
Ben’s gaze darkened. “But you just said they’re criminals.”
Zarnak hesitated. “You an… recruit the criminals into the city guard?”
Ben didn’t answer, just looking at him.
Zarnak exhaled through his nose, clearly displeased. “I wouldn’t recomnd it, Lord Tzarek. That’ll only make things worse.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “These aren’t desperate pickpockets stealing bread. They’re part of old gangs that survived the last purge. So of them were trained. Now they deal in blackmail, extortion, pit fights in the alleys. And worse.”
Zarnak’s jaw tightened. “Give them a title and a sword, and they’ll wear the uniform long enough to gain trust, then gut whoever stands in their way. We’ll have corruption so deep it’ll take root in the barracks.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather deal with open criminals than a city guard that answers to their own greed.”
Ben eyes narrowed. “What they’re organized cri?”
Zarnak nodded grimly.
Ben frowned. “Then why haven’t you wiped them out? Round them up, lock them down.”
Zarnak hesitated. “In the past, it was a manpower issue. But honestly… it’s more complicated than that.
A direct conflict with them would cost us. And more importantly, they’ve embedded themselves. So people protect them.”
Ben’s brow furrowed deeper. “Protect them? You said they extort and blackmail people.”
“They do,” Zarnak confird. “But they’re smart about it. They pick their targets carefully. And at the sa ti… they give back.
Food. Coin. Protection in places we don’t reach. They’ve built support among the poor. So see them as necessary evil. Others? As heroes.”
Ben went silent for a mont, letting it sink in. The governnt was still fragile, the city’s loyalty barely cented.
A crackdown now could be seen as tyranny. If the public turned against him… rebuilding would beco impossible.
“I see…” he muttered, his voice low.
Zarnak raised a brow as Ben stepped toward the window, the skyline of Krahal-Zir stretching before them.
“I want the citizens gathered in the central square,” Ben said calmly, arms crossed behind his back. “Today.”
Zarnak blinked. “All of them? Lord Tzarek, with respect… most will ignore the order. Especially those in the lower rings. The people don’t trust us yet.”
Ben glanced over his shoulder, a slow smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. “Then make them trust us. Just say there’ll be free food.”
Zarnak blinked again, stunned. “Food?”
“Warm, spiced, served on clean plates,” Ben added. “Word will spread in seconds. You’ll see. They’ll show up.”
“…Hmph. Clever,” Zarnak muttered, already making ntal notes. “And what exactly do you plan to tell them?”
Ben turned fully, his expression sharpening. “That they live in Krahal-Zir now. That this city has rules. A future..”
Zarnak gave a short nod, but Ben raised a hand.
“One more thing. I want a full report. Nas. Territories. Allegiances. Every gang and cri network you’ve had trouble with. I want it all on my desk by the end of the day.”
“Understood.” Zarnak bowed slightly. “I’ll see it done.”
Ben turned back toward the city. At first, his instinct had been simple, hunt them all down, pick a few, and make examples of them. But hearing how clever and deeply embedded they were… his thoughts changed.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t crush them. Maybe I should use them.’
If he could turn them to his side, they’d make excellent spies. Not just in Krahal-Zir, but in other cities. Their loyalty didn’t need to be clean, it just needed to be useful.
‘Well, No “if.” I will recruit them. One way or another.’
With the plan forming in his mind, Ben dismissed Zarnak and headed toward Elvira’s lab.
Crystal lenses rotated above scattered parchnt, and glowing rune pulsed across the floor. Elvira was hunched over her main platform, staring intently into a vat of swirling black aether suspended in a containnt field.
“Still alive in there?” Ben asked.
Elvira didn’t look back. “Shhh, hold on. The polarity’s reversing again, but it’s not adhering to any known magical frequency structure, gravitational collapse doesn’t follow the expected inversion thresholds, and the ambient mana field keeps decaying with every stabilization attempt, ”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “So… you’ve made progress?”
She finally looked up, tired eyes twitching behind glowing lenses.
“I’ve made sothing, but I wouldn’t call it ‘progress.’ I’ve built three separate models to study it, and all three contradicted each other. It breaks classification.
It doesn’t flow like magic. It doesn’t anchor like cursed energy. It reacts like, like it has its own logic, one I don’t understand.”
Ben frowned, then muttered, “Could it be… because it carries a power of law?”
Elvira froze. Her mouth opened, then slowly shut again. The silence stretched for several seconds.
“…Law?” she finally repeated, her voice quieter. “You think it’s… that?”
Ben shrugged. “Well that’s what Apophis say… A energy that create the world.”
Elvira slowly turned back to the dark aether sample, “That would explain why no frawork holds… I’ve been treating it like energy. But if it’s tied to conceptual law, ”
Ben raised a hand. “We’ll save that rabbit hole for later. I didn’t co here just to break your brain.”
Elvira blinked, snapping out of her trance. “Right. Sorry. What did you need?”
“I want to start golem production. I’ll need smart ones, combat-ready, patrol-capable, and able to interface with your Magic network.”
“I’ve already begun redesigning the city’s relay points. The core prototype is stable, tied to my reinforced mana lattice and layered with embedded scripts. The AI functions aren’t perfect, but it’s good enough to track movent.”
Ben whistled. “That’s good enough.”
“Still needs calibration, and a lot more work” she added, “but if you give a few golems to test on, I’ll upgrade their cognition, and don’t forget we still need to rebuild the system for this city.”
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