You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 269 Urgent Matter

Roman racked his brains to increase food production in order to feed a larger population.

A million catties of grain sounds like a lot, but Origin City has a population of nearly 50,000.

It was all used up in less than a month!

All food production is cyclical.

Even vegetables, no matter how fast they grow, still need 20 to 30 days to mature, and they can't fill your stomach; they can only be used as a side dish.

This is also why Roman dared not openly purchase slaves.

Otherwise, he could simply pull out a million arrows and exchange them for 100,000 slaves from Alex.

The Black Iron Lands are the most powerful and prosperous land kingdoms among the Seven Kingdoms.

The conquerors occupied the most fertile central valley of the entire land.

Roman believed that the Iron Lands had at least tens of millions of people—at the very least.

Ten million or twenty million are both possible.

These 100,000 people are less than one percent of the population of the Black Iron Land.

Of course, other kingdoms didn't have that many people.

For example, the Kingdom of Iceland would be at most three million people.

Therefore, in the war against the pirates, the King of Iceland was considered an auxiliary ally of the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor.

The pirates are now waging a full-scale invasion.

The entire north is in complete chaos. Pirates have not only invaded Black Iron, but have also plundered Iceland.

Roman was indiscriminate in his desires, accepting men, women, and children of all ages, so a population of 100,000 was nothing to pirates.

But the pirates had a million arrows, which was equivalent to ten times the number of times they borrowed arrows with straw boats.

With their powerful long-range firepower, they estimated they could conquer one-fifth of the Black Iron Lands in one fell swoop.

A broken archer with cracked armor is nothing but a fart in front of a million arrows!

Roman didn't say he couldn't give it.

Casting arrowheads, correcting arrow shafts, using foot-operated lathes, and factory-style management—once they ramp up production, their output can leave everyone speechless.

But he can't support that many people.

Said without politeness.

Humanity's problem is the problem of food!

But Roman looked at Gweil's pale face, and then at the experimental field that was only one acre in size...

The consumption of blessing plants is minimal.

But the scope was too large, not to mention that the blessings were given five times.

Ugh……

The task is arduous and the road ahead is long.

However, Roman intends to keep all of these experimental fields for seed production.

This batch of rice, blessed by Gweil, mutated to produce superior traits and became the seeds for next year's rice.

Next year, new seeds will be blessed again.

In other words, Gweil is not the Rice Princess, but the true Mother of Rice.

In the future, everyone in the entire Origin City will have to kowtow to her.

"Thank you for your hard work," Roman said.

Having regained some strength, Gweil wrapped her arms around Roman's shoulders and pressed her cheek against his. She said, "Roman, I'm glad I could help you."

"Yes, it's all for me." He kissed Gweil's eyebrows and eyes, making her giggle.

"After I take a nap, I'll have all my energy back." She smiled and smiled, her eyes too tired to keep open, and then she drifted off to sleep with a satisfied and joyful expression.

Roman brought Gweil back to the manor and met Shasta.

“She’s exhausted.” Shasta could tell at a glance that she was in a bad state.

“Because I need her,” Roman said. “Is there anything else Witchwood can do to help her?”

"Lyanna's potion can only be drunk once! Otherwise, she will die."

"I'm asking if you have any way to ease her burden, not for you to say these nonsensical things."

Gweil carried sapphires and amber; the former increased her magical power, and the latter enhanced her wisdom.

However, the effect is not obvious and at most it plays a supporting role.

Shasta frowned in thought, "I remember there's a talent spell in the Witch Forest that can enhance the magic power of a companion—but she's not even a mid-level witch."

At its peak, the Witch Forest boasted nearly a thousand witches—half of whom were mid-level witches. Witches of this rank were comparable to third, fourth, or fifth-tier warrior knights.

This is all the power that the witch forest has accumulated over a long period of time.

The prophetic witch has the ability to unleash the hidden potential of witches.

After she takes action, the witch's power usually experiences a significant leap.

But the witches rarely gathered together; instead, they lived scattered in various strongholds.

Shasta, a witch who grew up in the witch's forest, couldn't recognize everyone.

When Gael was annihilating the witches, their living space was compressed. After the battle of the Holy City, the witches suffered heavy casualties, lost all their strongholds, and had no choice but to flee to Azure Moon.

"Can we call her over?" Roman asked.

“I can ask,” Shasta said bluntly, “but I have to tell you, witches have their limits. Even if you help her, you will only make her more tired. The more you help her, the more tired she will be.”

Roman frowned. "This is none of your business!"

“I’m not worried about it, but I am concerned that overworking her will make her weaken prematurely.”

During this time, Roman learned that witches also have a period of decline, or rather, a period of aging.

They have long lifespans; high-ranking witches can live for hundreds of years.

But overdrawing one's strength for too long...

They were defeated not by time, but by their bodies.

A witch's body and soul have their limits.

Roman couldn't expect Gweil to bless hundreds of acres of paddy fields in a single day.

Humans are not machines; how can humans be machines of exploitation?

When I feel tired, I should go to sleep.

It's normal to not wake up from excessive fatigue.

Seeing him deep in thought and silent, Shasta guessed that he was also worried about Gweil's health, and her cold voice softened, "That's how my teacher, the Thunder Witch, passed away... She drank a potion to prove our innocence, and in the end, she left nothing behind."

"Hmph, what a foolish move."

"You!" Shasta's eyebrows shot up.

Roman ignored her, handed the sleeping Gweil to her, and turned to leave.

She glared at his retreating figure, wanting to punch him, but then glanced at Gweil in her arms, gritted her teeth, and went back to her room.

……

Roman wants Gweil to bless fifty acres of rice paddies this year.

He originally intended to bestow blessings upon 100 acres.

However, it's important not to overuse it.

So they halved her workload.

Such a useful witch should be used for several years, preferably a hundred years, that would be very comfortable.

The yield of these experimental fields should be around 300 jin per mu.

In this way, he will have 15,000 catties of rice seeds, which can theoretically meet the needs of 2,000 mu of rice fields next year.

However, those superior individuals that are temporarily mutated can only be planted once at most, and then their traits will quickly degenerate.

This was originally a miracle brought about by Gavier.

Miracles cannot be spread or sustained.

This is also why Roman believes that blessing babies is a very unwise act.

Her blessing is effective, but its power will dissipate, and she will need to bless again in the future.

After all, the human growth period is more than ten years, and it is often unrealistic to expect a blessing to last that long.

Rice, on the other hand, can be harvested in four or five months.

He pondered and searched for other ways to increase grain production.

Farming is the most urgent task.

He stared at the system interface, at this vast basin, and his ambition began to burn within him. He desperately wanted to shape it into the form he desired.

But this cannot be achieved overnight.

Roman looked at the weather forecast in "The Tale of Life".

Heavy rain is coming!

(End of this chapter)