According to Evander, it cost seventy-five silver coins per day to employ empowered builders at the level of the ones he was sending.

He claimed they were several times faster than the two hundred Tania and Thalia had sent, and that they worked far more efficiently.

Thankfully, because of his connection with the Yellow Orchid, he could hire them at fifty silver coins per day.

That meant he would have to spend five hundred gold coins every day. It was extremely expensive. It was literally ten percent of everything his town owned.

Still, when he calculated the profits, for example the amount of gold coins he would gain from upgrading to a city would already be significant, then it would be multiplied by one hundred, and Floki was even planning to break through soon, meaning his multiplier would increase further.

And it was not only gold coins. There would be other benefits as well, benefits that would make spending this much worth it.

So, without discussing it any further, he agreed to the deal, and Evander confirmed that the workers would arrive before evening.

With the issue of the builders out of the way, Floki began making requests for the things he would need the next time the Yellow Orchid visited.

He needed a large quantity of seeds for his farms, feed for his livestock, more building materials, horses and carriages for transportation, and many other things.

If he had not revealed his wealth earlier, Evander would probably have thought he was joking.

Because of that, the young heir took everything seriously, and his respect for Floki grew even more.

Even so, before ending the call, he made sure to remind Floki about their deal.

Floki simply smiled and nodded.

Inwardly, he wore a deeply malevolent grin as he imagined the shock on Evander’s face when he returned and found that Ironside Town had become a city.

While still inside the town hall, he switched his Path to Beast Tamer and quickly accessed his pet domain to summon Nightfang.

Nightfang had grown a little, almost double its previous size, which was quite surprising.

"Only a few insects, and you’ve grown this much?" he muttered to himself.

Then he accessed Nightfang’s details.

╔════════════════════╗

NAME: Nightfang

RACE: Shadow Serpent (Unique)

AFFINITY: Shadow

EVOLUTION: Bronze-rank (3%)

AWAKENED SKILLS: Night Merge (F), Adaptation (F)

╚════════════════════╝

Its evolution rank had also increased by three percent just from consuming insects? Floki wondered.

Meanwhile, unaware of the thoughts in its master’s mind, Nightfang crept up his arm and onto his shoulder, relaxing there as its curious eyes scanned the interior of the town hall.

Floki recalled that he still had some Bronze-rank monster cores in his inventory that he had not used yet, and he summoned one.

The moment Nightfang’s gaze landed on it, it leaped from Floki’s shoulder and coiled tightly around the monster core, as if claiming it as its own.

The telepathic message it sent to Floki was filled with delight, as though he had just given it a toy.

Floki placed both Nightfang and the monster core on the wooden table.

Nightfang adjusted its coils around the core, then slowly closed its eyes, seeming to drift into a calm meditative state.

Gradually, it began to absorb mana from the monster core.

Thin, almost invisible threads of mana formed around the core, weaving into a faint and intricate pattern as they slowly flowed into Nightfang’s body.

After about twenty minutes, two percent was added to its evolution progress, bringing it to five percent.

"Good," Floki said quietly with a faint smile as he observed this.

He decided to move both Nightfang and the monster core into the pet domain, predicting that it would be more convenient and faster there.

He was right. After only ten more minutes inside the pet domain, its evolution increased by another two percent.

Now that this was settled, Floki decided to begin preparing for his other requirement, which was bringing up one hundred professionals.

Even so, he was quite exhausted from not sleeping the previous night.

Even at Gold-rank, he was still mortal. No one could truly overcome the need for sleep.

Still, before retiring to his manor, he went to visit the farm.

When he arrived at the farmlands, the smile on his face deepened.

It looked very different from a few days ago when it had begun to decay. Now, it was covered in fresh green, a clear sign of renewed fertility.

Creeper plants such as beans, melon, watermelon, and potatoes spread across the ground, carpeting the area.

They had grown so quickly that their current state made them appear at least a few weeks old, yet they were not even three days old.

The farmers had already created heaps and ridges across the farmlands, forming walking paths that allowed them to move freely without damaging the crops, while also improving the overall appearance of the land.

It looked so neat that one could almost mistake it for a garden.

Aside from the smaller plants with short life cycles, fruit trees such as orange, mango, guava, and a few others had also grown.

In just a few more days, or at most a week, it would be difficult for anyone to believe that these plants were not months old.

"Baron Floki!"

Old Charleston called out as he hurried toward him.

The other farmers followed closely behind.

Little Noah and Ryik, who had been working with their parents, heard Floki’s name and immediately ran toward him as well.

The two boys pushed themselves, trying to outrun the older ones.

Under normal circumstances, they might have succeeded, but Old Charleston was now level 3 and much faster.

Despite being the oldest, he was the first to arrive in front of Floki.

Once everyone had gathered around him, they began sharing their experiences with excitement.

"Look at this one, Baron. I planted it yesterday, but it already looks like it’s been here for almost two weeks."

"It’s because of you. We’re blessed."

"We’re proud to be your people."

Praises rose from all sides.

Then, as if they had all agreed at once, they began to chant.

"Floki the Bountiful Lord!"

Their voices rang out across the fields.

Floki waved lightly at them before turning and returning to his manor.