Chapter 90: The Logging Ban

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since they received their official rewards and established Dusk Town. Deep autumn was approaching, and the settlers who had moved here had all been properly settled before winter arrived.

Although construction had been carried out in a hurry, not a single shoddy structure was present. Each household lived in a separate large pine house—solid, spacious, and durable. Compared to the shabby huts the mountain people used to have in their old villages, these houses were undoubtedly much neater, more beautiful, and more comfortable.

The crops planted in spring and summer had been mostly harvested, filling the granaries in the territory. The settlers had enough food and warmth, and they would hardly lack supplies until next spring. Winter wheat was already ready for sowing, and it would sprout as soon as the first snow fell.

All of this had raised the settlers of Silver Moon Domain to an extremely high level of reverence for their lord, helping them integrate quickly into this land and truly regard Dalaran as their home to protect.

“This year is a year of bountiful harvests!”

Donald, who was inspecting the territory, exclaimed as he looked at the piles of wheat straw left after harvesting in the fields.

William, the administrative officer behind him, agreed, “Indeed, my lord! Thanks to your Divine Yellow Elixir, our harvest is at least 30% higher than that of our neighbors in Red Maple Town. There are few diseases, and the grains are plump. We hope next year’s winter wheat will yield similarly!”

“What about the profits from greenhouse vegetables?”

“Your lord, the produce from the crystal greenhouses is sold by my subordinates in Giantstone City and Red Maple Town. Nobles place the largest orders, followed by wealthy merchants and several inns. A single vegetable can fetch more than ten times its usual price—this is even without raising prices drastically. At this rate, the monthly output of the greenhouses could rival the profits from black tea!”

“Hmm! You’ve done well! But greenhouse vegetables are seasonal—profits will drop significantly after winter. By then, the greenhouses should focus on cultivating magical plants and rare spices. Be sure to select the right people for this task; no mistakes allowed!”

“Yes, my lord. I will supervise strictly!”

Although the outside world was filled with cold winds and yellowing autumn leaves, the presence of the Tree of Life’s natural barrier meant the manor and territory experienced much less temperature drop, remaining lush and green.

Especially in several plantations, greenhouses with crystal domes and windows were built for high-value vegetables and crops, creating an environment with ample sunlight and warmth, which allowed the plants to grow vigorously. This enabled fresh vegetables to be available even in winter within the territory, which could be sold to nearby towns like Red Maple and Giant Stone City, generating hundreds of gold sols per month. The sale of other medicinal herbs also brought significant profits. Combined with the production of Moonlight Wine and black tea, Dalaran’s earnings for just one month approached ten thousand gold sols. Similar greenhouses existed in this world as well—they were not Donald’s sole invention. However, the true greenhouses were known as Arcane Gardens, magical structures passed down by ancient archmages for cultivating rare magical plants. Later mages also built such Arcane Gardens in their towers to meet the needs of their research. Nobles, inspired by the mages’ ideas, constructed simple greenhouses in their own estates to provide light and warmth for crops during winter, so they could enjoy the rare fresh green vegetables available then. But since the cost of building such greenhouses was almost enough to buy another estate, only a few high nobles and the royal family could afford this luxury. Ordinary nobles and lower-ranking nobles could only occasionally purchase some fresh fruits and vegetables from the market. Even so, this was enough to make commoners envious. Donald’s greenhouses, redesigned based on scientific principles from his past life, were far inferior to those Arcane Gardens in the mage towers. Yet thanks to his willingness to invest, with numerous crystal domes and windows, the greenhouses were spacious and bright. They also featured constant-temperature alchemy arrays powered by elemental energies, making them far more effective than the greenhouses built by the nobles. “Recently, many low-level magical beasts have come to our territory in preparation for winter. How are the security measures in Graywood Village and Windbell Village?” “Your lordship’s wise decision to form hunting teams was truly foresighted. With the hunting teams patrolling, these magical beasts not only cause no trouble to the territory but also bring extra income to the villagers!” “Then I’m relieved! Tell them to go ahead—as long as they stay within the territory’s boundaries, they won’t be attacked by high-level magical beasts.”

Due to the natural barrier, along with the abundance of evergreen trees in the two forests within the territory, it remains lush and green to this day. After Donald officially named these two forests, they were distinguished from the forests deep in the Green Cloak. Ancient trees transformed from the Ancient Guardians were rooted along the borders, capable of effectively predicting and preventing threats from powerful magical beasts.

As a result of the delayed onset of winter in these two forests, many ordinary wild beasts and small magical creatures came to forage, allowing Dalaran’s newly formed hunting teams to reap significant benefits and bringing more meat and furs to the territory.

It could be said that these past few months have been the happiest time in the lives of these mountain people who migrated to Dalaran’s territory.

At that moment, a cool breeze of late autumn blew in from afar. Donald, with his strong physique and considerable strength, though not immune to the elements as rumored, felt little from this slight breeze. William and his attendants, being ordinary people, were different; even though they were well-dressed for warmth, they still felt a bit chilly.

Seeing them shivering, Donald asked, “Winter is approaching. How are everyone’s preparations for heating and staying warm during winter? Have you been affected by my logging ban?”

At this time, people in the northern regions usually began stockpiling various supplies for winter, with firewood being the most needed for keeping warm.

Just a few days earlier, Donald, the lord of this territory, had issued a second decree: a logging ban. The decree stated that no trees in Dalaran’s territory could be cut down without reason, especially ancient trees over a hundred years old. Trees under a hundred years old could be cut down in limited quantities, but for every tree cut down, at least two new trees had to be planted in its place the following year.

William replied, “There is some impact. The villagers need to avoid cutting down trees over a hundred years old, which means they have to go deeper into the forest. Fortunately, the Twilight Forest and Moonlight Wood are not particularly dangerous. The men go there in groups to cut wood; it’s just a longer distance, but no one complains. As for the order to plant more trees, we’ll have to wait until next spring when it’s warmer.”

“There’s no rush to plant the trees—just make sure everyone does their part! After all, while forests are important, the livelihoods of the people also need to be taken care of. Firewood for winter is essential. Instruct them to prepare more this year, but be sure to take proper fire prevention measures for the wood piles in the warehouse!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Donald’s decree left many of his subjects, including territorial officials, confused, but he offered no explanation. As a lord, all that mattered was ensuring his decrees were enforced; there was no need to explain them unless absolutely necessary.

In his past life, Donald had lived in a polluted city and had long lost touch with the beauty of nature. Back then, he could be considered a sort of environmentalist, often attending protests and demonstrations in the city.

Now that this vast territory belonged to him, he decided to base it on the Elven Tree of Life. A series of Elven defensive structures required abundant natural vegetation to gain greater strength, so protecting the forest from destruction became crucial.

The losses from ecological damage far outweighed the short-term gains from clearing forests for farmland. Daranor already had sufficient economic and food resources, with a small population. Following a model similar to that of Europe and America in his past life—where there were few people but vast lands—there was no need to destroy forests to create conditions.

The previous aptitude tests and the current logging ban were just the beginning.

In this relatively primitive era, the knowledge Donald possessed, though common in his past life and not really a secret, was far beyond what existed in this world. Even a small hint of it could draw much attention. For example, the architectural concepts of the villas he built.

Therefore, he could only gradually introduce these ideas, slowly integrating his concepts into this world.

The Kingdom of Selt was already known among human nations for its low population density, and Donald’s Daranor had an even smaller population—less than a thousand people.

But Donald remembered that some developed countries in his past life also had low population densities, yet their economic strength, military power, and scientific technology far surpassed those of many populous developing countries.

Take many countries on the vast African continent, for example. Some of those countries were among the poorest and most backward in the world, with many infants dying due to lack of proper care. In parts of Southeast Asia, population explosions led to severe economic crises, with entire countries often in debt.

Thus, Donald had no intention of rapidly increasing the population or encouraging more births, as supporting such a large population would be difficult for him as a lord.

His future plan… is to turn his territory into a prosperous home that everyone outside envies. Though the population is small, each member is an elite, and even one of them, outside the territory, would be respected by others. This way, not only can Dalaran’s stability and prosperity be maintained for a long time, but it will also bring greater benefits to him. With the existence of the Book of Truth, this plan is not just a fantasy but a fully achievable goal! The only challenge is ensuring that after cultivating the people in his territory into talents in various fields, those talents remain loyal to Dalaran and their lord. He doesn’t want to invest so much resources only for the talents to be poached by other forces or simply leave the territory and betray him, resulting in wasted effort and no rewards. Thus, so far, lacking effective control methods, Donald is very cautious in choosing those to train—only his close associates, those with clean reputations, and those whose affinity as shown by the Spirit Vision of the Tree of Life is at least at the yellow level or above. This has caused the development of his elite plan to proceed very slowly. However, both Dalaran and Donald are still very young, so he can afford to wait. Even if progress is slow, he doesn’t want to rush and end up causing greater losses due to mistakes.