The Witcher World: The Path to Domination Begins in Velen

Chapter 104 The Griffin and Erwin's Report

Ron leaned against the doorframe, watching her without making a sound to disturb her. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly felt something furry crawling around on the back of his foot.

He looked down and saw the little white griffin. It had grown to the size of an adult hunting dog, and its small wings were fully spread out, covered with a layer of soft, white down, making it look fluffy and white.

The little griffin spread its wings and pounced into Ron's arms. It was much stronger than the hound. It buried its little head in his chest and nuzzled around, making soft, whimpering noises, and flapping its wings against his hands.

Ron was somewhat surprised. He held it up with both hands and looked at it at eye level. The little griffin gently pecked at Ron's fingers, its tail swaying in the air. Ron examined it carefully and felt a strange sense of familiarity about it.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Kayla turned around, holding a bottle of freshly prepared healing potion, and gave Ron an annoyed look.

"Gretka spends all her time playing with Henry's silly dog, what's its name again? Dumb Dog? I think at this rate your griffin will turn into a hunting dog..."

'

Ron's lips twitched. "Did it show any intention to hurt anyone?"

"Hurt someone? Does licking someone's face count?" Kayla put the potion into a leather bag.

"However, it's very wary of strangers. Besides you, Gretka and I are the only ones who can get close to it. Not counting Dudu, it probably sees that silly dog ​​as one of its own kind."

Kayla walked to the door and gently flicked the little griffin's forehead.

"Why don't you play with it for a while? The little guy was so sad when you left that he wouldn't even eat meat. I thought he was sick, but then I found that every now and then he would run to the door and stare in the direction you left. Okay, I have to go check on Xi'er."

Ron sat down next to the lab table, holding the baby griffin. The little griffin rested its head on his knees, its wings folded to its sides, its deep blue eyes half-closed, looking completely content.

Ron suddenly remembered something, opened the companion interface, and his gaze stopped on the little lion's panel. In the previously blank trait column below the name, a golden label appeared: Loyalty.

Ron was stunned. Was this why it was so close to him? He stroked his chin, a bold idea forming in his mind.

If other monsters can also be selected to have individuals with the trait of loyalty, the idea of ​​forming a Lion Knight Order will have a foundation. The biggest problem with monsters is not their combat power, but their controllability.

But he had no recollection of this trait in the game. Was it a characteristic that developed through artificial breeding, or was it something that some individuals were born with?

If loyalty can be cultivated through artificial breeding, then selecting young animals and raising them from a young age is a viable approach. If it is an innate trait, then large-scale capture and selection from among them is necessary.

The little lion seemed to notice Ron's distraction, and angrily patted his arm with its wing, then stuffed its fluffy head into his palm.

The following morning, in the main building lobby.

Ron pushed open the door, and Erwin was already inside, with a thick stack of reports in front of him, waiting to report on the recent situation of the territory.

"During this period, all affairs of the manor have been progressing steadily," Erwin said, adjusting his glasses and pointing to the data on the report.

"Regarding food, the first batch of spring-sown fields have been harvested, and the yield of oats and barley is 20% higher than expected. Aina and Henry have collaborated to improve composting methods, and in her words, herbalism and agriculture are essentially the same thing."

The tax grain from other villages within the territory is currently concentrated in three locations: Crow's Nest, Reardon Manor, and Carradine Manor. Our granary reserves are sufficient to support three thousand people for six months.

Currently, the manor's food consumption mainly relies on imported grains from the Corner of Abundance and Novigrad. This stockpile of grain can serve as a wartime reserve to ensure that it can sustain combat in the event of a siege. After all, the Corner of Abundance can only be kept in the manor or carried by you, while Raven's Nest and Rilton still require grain reserves.

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Erwin's beam of light moved down the report. "Regarding the trade fleet, Dudu has already signed the first batch of merchant ship acquisition contracts in Novigrad: two medium-sized caravels. The sailors were selected from Skellige mercenaries and the standing army, and the captain is a veteran sailor with over ten years of experience, also a Skellige."

"In Novigrad, there has been a series of assassinations targeting Eternal Flame priests and high-ranking clergy. Three priests and a temple guard captain have been killed. No signs of combat were left at the scene, suggesting they were killed before they could fight back. Witch hunters and temple guards are investigating, but the culprit has not yet been caught."

Erwin tapped the table. "This is unexpectedly good news for us. The witch hunters are now hunting down the killer all over the city, and attention to the Kingfisher Tavern and the Northern Gazette has dropped to a minimum."

"In addition, the scholars we recruited at Cowburg have become familiar with and taken over the relevant work, my halfling colleague is supervising the construction progress at the construction site outside Raven's Nest, five philosophy students have been assigned to clerical and logistical positions to handle the increasing accounts and material allocation records, and old Gott has been completely freed from clerical work to focus on militia training."

Berthold and Anise were also settled in. The couple moved into a newly built cabin next to Aina's herb garden. Berthold's alchemy had been a great help to Aina's garden; he had used a plant catalyst to halve the growth cycle of the main materials. Anise served as Kayla's assistant. Kayla was quite satisfied with her; Arietusa's student was very capable.

Ron nodded. "Very good. What about the workshops and armaments?"

"The water-powered wire drawing machine is now in full production, and the output of chainmail has increased by nearly 60% compared to before. The upgrade of the water-powered forging hammer has entered the debugging stage. The warlocks and Lady Kayla brought back from Novigrad last time have been a great help. They worked together to solve the most troublesome cast iron base. The new forging hammer can be tested within a week. After it is officially put into production, the output of breastplates and plate armor will at least double."

His finger traced down the notepad: "The current size of the standing army is 1,800 men. With the addition of the militia reserve, the total strength is close to 3,000. Moreover, many of them are veterans of Temuria with combat experience, which has played a significant role in the training progress of the standing army."

"Hmm, to what extent have the defenses of Reardon Manor and Raven's Nest been fortified?"

"The walls of Reardon Manor have been repaired, and two watchtowers have been added to the outer perimeter. The construction of the outer city of Raven's Nest is expected to take another three months. The inner fortress has been repaired, and the walls on this side of the manor have been expanded to a height of three and a half meters. The inner side is connected to the towers by wooden walkways to enhance the defense, and defensive firing can be carried out from inside the walls."

"In addition, the manor's population, including commoners and artisans, is currently close to six hundred, and the total population of the surrounding settlements is close to three thousand."

After listening, Ron stood up and walked to the window. "Erwin, prioritize the expansion of the army."

"Understood. The next phase of the military expansion plan has already begun. Recruitment notices are spreading throughout Velen, and many veterans from Temuria have taken the initiative to come and sign up."

With the aid of strengthening agents, the training cycle for new recruits can be shortened to six to eight weeks, and the standing army can be expanded to more than 5,000 men before autumn. With the addition of militia and reserves, the total mobilization force can reach 7,000 to 10,000 men.

However, equipment needs to be prepared in advance. Once the new water-powered forging hammers are put into production, the output of breastplates and plate armor can keep up. The bottleneck in weaponry lies in crossbows. Crossbow parts require precision machining, and currently only a few experienced craftsmen can do it, so production cannot be increased.

"Give some of the crossbow parts to the Raven's Den blacksmith. Yuna's team can be transferred to provide support. Contact Novigrad's channels and buy ready-made parts. Dikoscher should have a solution."

"Okay, I'll send someone to contact Mr. Lu Wen today."

Erwin wrote down these points in his notebook: "Lady Margarita came to see me this morning and proposed to arrange a separate laboratory for her students, specifically for magical experiments and teaching."

"Yes, let Margarita choose her own spot. She knows better than us what she needs, and we'll do our best to accommodate her."

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