Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 711: The Three Northern Lands
TL: Rui88
Ever since the northern exploration fleet mapped the coastal areas north of the Rocky Mountains, the Alda Administration Council began to invest vast resources into its development.
This expansive virgin territory was justifiably regarded as the new domain of the Ferdinand Family. It was covered with dense primeval forests, concealing countless precious mineral deposits, and possessed fertile black earth. To let it remain dormant would have been an extravagant waste.
The native tribes here—mainly forest orcs—did not possess the strict territorial awareness of humans from civilized nations, even less so than their kin on the plains. A few products that could greatly improve their quality of life—such as delicious refined salt, sturdy ironware, vibrant fabrics, and exquisite porcelain—were enough to trade for their recognition of ownership over a large tract of land.
And it was not just land; even labour could be easily exchanged for.
Adhering to the principle instructed by Count Paul Grayman to “avoid conflict with local tribes as much as possible,” the development teams often chose lands that the forest orcs considered of little value as their footholds.
They felled towering trees, drained the stagnant water from swamps, and drove away dangerous wild beasts. With a speed that amazed the natives, they established fortresses, farms, and workshops in places once deemed uninhabitable. The prospecting and mining of underground mineral resources were also in full swing. Locally produced coal was already sufficient to support the development team members through winters that were colder here than in the western bay.
To many forest orcs, the changes brought by the arrival of the humans seemed like a miracle. Were those tall, sturdy buildings, the astonishingly large farmlands, and the workshops that produced such exquisite goods truly things that mortal beings could create? Mysterious legends about the Alda people began to spread among the many native tribes.
But there were also some audacious fools who wanted to investigate by crude means, or rather, to seize it all for themselves. However, without exception, they were met with a severe blow.
Compared to the forest orcs, who were still in an almost primitive state, the Alda development team’s technological advantage was undoubtedly overwhelming.
The ferocity of the forest orcs might not have been inferior to their kin on the plains, but the wooden clubs and stone spears in their hands could not penetrate steel armour, and the leather on their bodies could not withstand swords, bows, and crossbows. Moreover, their organisational skills were abysmal. The overall combat effectiveness of these fellows was even worse than that of bandits who formed gangs in human kingdoms. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
After eliminating a few who dared to stick their necks out, the Alda people established their prestige in this savage land. Those with ill intentions also settled down, honestly trading furs, medicinal herbs, and various mountain delicacies with the humans.
The forest orcs were not completely isolated from the world. Their kin from the plains would periodically send merchant caravans to trade with them, and the dwarven clans from the western section of the Rocky Mountains also occasionally came down to do some business. Salt, cloth, ironware, grain, and so on were all popular trade goods here.
However, the items brought by the plains orcs were basically second-hand goods that had been phased out, while the dwarves from the Rocky Mountains—a bunch of shorties who looked honest but were black-hearted, curse be upon them—often sold their goods at exorbitant prices.
It was not until the Alda people arrived. The quality of the goods they used for trade was far superior to the rubbish from the plains, and the prices were far lower than those of the dwarves from the Rocky Mountains. The affordable and high-quality human goods quickly conquered almost all the native tribes they could reach.
Relying on trade and a big stick, Alda successively established more than twenty trading posts along the coastline of this vast and primitive land. Through long-term personnel dispatch and stationing, as well as continuously attracting nearby natives to join, half of them had already developed into the scale of towns.
The largest of these strongholds was Black Worm’s Nest. This name came from the local natives. The reason it was so strange was because the nearby sea abounded in a type of black undersea worm. This black worm was also known as the sea cucumber in human nations and was widely popular as a great supplement.
The management of Black Worm’s Nest naturally would not miss such a profitable opportunity. They organised the fishing of sea cucumbers and sold them to human nations. With this special resource, Black Worm’s Nest obtained a large amount of trade income, which strongly supported local construction and development, making it one of the first trading posts to develop into a town.
Tranquil Steppes, Lucky Forest, Blackwater Basin; this was how the Administration Council divided the land north of the western section of the Rocky Mountains, collectively referring to them as the Three Northern Lands.
And the former commander of the Northern Exploration Fleet, Stanford, was appointed by the Administration Council as the administrative head of the Three Northern Lands, permanently stationed at Black Worm’s Nest to coordinate the overall situation.
Since the King’s Tent on the plains launched its invasion of Ordo, this area was immediately given importance due to the strategic location of the Three Northern Lands, which bordered the Great Plains.
Black Worm’s Nest received instructions from Lakeheart Town: make full use of our advantages to bring the still fragmented and weakly unified forest orc tribes to our side. Even if this could not be accomplished, we must prevent the plains side from gaining further control over them.
After Ordo and the King’s Tent made peace, Black Worm’s Nest once again received a message from Lakeheart Town, emphasizing the urgency and necessity of bringing the Three Northern Lands under control.
Stanford felt the pressure.
According to the information he had, the conquest of northern Ordo by the King’s Tent had already spread into the forests of the Three Northern Lands. Some ambitious individuals seemed to be inspired by the “heroic deeds” of their plains kin and were eyeing the nearby human strongholds with covetous gazes.
One of them was Gunther, the son of the chieftain of the Blood Bull Tribe. This fellow had recently been running around, attempting to unite those fools who harboured similar thoughts, planning to strike a major blow against the humans at some point.
“So? Our young chieftain has already gathered a considerable force in his hands?”
Stanford sat in his office, white smoke rising from the pipe in his hand. He calmly asked the guest across his desk.
“Yes, my lord. Just before I set out, another tribe made a pact with him.”
The guest was dressed in the popular style of an Alda merchant. If not for the obvious layer of thick fur on his skin indicating he was an orc, he could almost be mistaken for a powerfully built human.
In order to advertise human goods, and at the same time to complete the mission given to him by Lakeheart Town, Stanford had instructed the various strongholds to do their best to display the appeal of human civilization. Of course, at this stage, talking about poetry with a bunch of fellows who did not even have a written language was a bit far-fetched, so the main attraction was material.
Clean and decent clothing, comfortable and bright residences, delicious and abundant food… and so on and so forth. Many human things were killer blows to the forest orcs who were still in a primitive tribal state.
In addition to this, Stanford also focused on winning over those orcs who held considerable status in their respective tribes, developing a group of informants who could provide him with information.
Such as Mr. Broghar, who sat before him now.
