The fat cat sat in a chair and looked at his big boss with frightened eyes. Although he had heard some rumors before, this was the first time he had seen Henry in action. It's really terrible, just a few words to provoke a person's hidden (desire) in the depths of his heart, and also let the other party voluntarily do something beneficial to himself.

After shaking hands, Dick closed his eyes limply as if he had exhausted all his strength, not knowing what he was thinking. However, what is certain is that he has no room to retreat, he can only go in the established direction, and if he does not succeed, he will become benevolent.

After completing another conspiracy against the surrounding countries, Henry's mood was much brighter. Obviously, regardless of whether it succeeds in the end or not, you can get hundreds of thousands of people, which can be said to be a sure deal, and you can also earn a large amount of gold coins along the way. Naturally, weapons and armor cannot be provided for free, and each one requires glittering gold coins to purchase.

So far, apart from the distant city of Waterdeep in the north, the newly established Kingdom of West Hartland has its only opponent in this land, the Kingdom of Cormier. However, he did not believe that with his current strength, he could directly confront the founding of the country for more than a thousand years, and there was hardly too much turmoil.

Powerful war mages, a large number of brave and skilled Purple Dragon Legions, and nobles and people loyal to the royal family, this qiē formed a stable and prosperous kingdom. The Obaiszir family holds the supreme power firmly, and as long as there is no large-scale catastrophe, Cormier will not be destroyed by other forces.

In Henry's plan, of course. Originally, there was no intention of attacking this country. After all, it's not the chaotic area of Comanso. Or further north, the territory of the Santarins is fraught with a lot of unrest. He needed Cormier to be a strong barrier. Keep these firmly out and buy yourself time to develop.

However, this is obviously not easy, especially since there is a huge gap in the labor force. Preliminary estimates suggest that at least four million or more adults will be needed to barely function. You must know that most countries in the world have a population of about two million, which is not bad, and the famous powerhouse Serre is only about five million.

Therefore, in the next two years, it will be necessary to use various methods to attract immigrants from all over the country, and it is not so much to care about the means used. Henry didn't have the patience to wait quietly for the population to grow naturally. It takes at least 16 years for a child to be able to work from birth, during which time he is faced with all kinds of terrible diseases, man-eating monsters, and ferocious beasts, and no more than 20% of them can grow up alive.

He used to look at some statistics. Since the establishment of the city of Bluvent and its surrounding villages, the neonatal mortality rate has dropped from 85 percent at the beginning to 50 percent now. This was thanks to the hype and popularization of simple medical knowledge by the druids of the Treerings, as well as cheap herbal treatments.

Fifty percent means that one out of every two newborns dies, and the other doesn't necessarily make it to life. Even so, many ordinary people and academics are still excited, because in most places the figure is even as high as 90 percent.

This shows why the population of the Faren Continent has not been large. Long-term wars and intrigues are one aspect, and the rest is due to outdated medical knowledge and expensive divine treatments. After all, the cost of dozens or hundreds of gold coins is simply not affordable for ordinary families. Most of the druids were hiding in the mountains and forests, and the herbs could not be promoted at all.

With the current number of tree-ring druids, it can only cover a few major cities, and it may take several years to promote it on a large scale. The Angome Islands have now become a sanctuary for bards, with neither terrible monsters nor robbers. With its fertile land, mild climate and reasonable taxation, it's a paradise that everyone can only dream of.

But in Henry's eyes, this can only be regarded as a subsistence work. That's right, it's just to survive. Year after year, they ate monotonous food, repetitive heavy physical labor, had little entertainment, and were able to go to the bar in the evening to drink a glass of inferior ale, and these people would cheer loudly with joy.

What he needs is a vibrant and pioneering country that can provide enough talent to meet the huge demands of building a powerful magical empire. Everyone knows that in order to become a mage, you must first be smart enough, generally speaking, most normal people only have an intelligence of eight to ten, and a normal person can learn magic as long as they exceed nine.

Of course, this is only the minimum standard. A mage with an intelligence of nine can only learn up to four levels of magic, and the success rate of learning will not exceed thirty-five percent, and the maximum number of magic masteries at each level shall not exceed six. What a sad number, which means that most ordinary people, although they can learn, spend a lot of money and time.

Next, let's look at a mage with an eighteenth intelligence, which is what is called an absolute genius among humans. He can learn level 9 or higher, even legendary magic, with a success rate of 85 percent, and a maximum of eighteen magic at each level. What a terrifying number, completely throwing off the former more than a dozen streets.

Generally speaking, most of the children who can be selected for apprenticeship are above fourteen. They are able to learn magic above level seven, and each level of magic can master up to about nine, which is the cornerstone of the entire magical civilization.

However, in a world of polarization and strictness, Intelligence Fourteen can be regarded as one in a thousand for civilians. After all, due to environmental factors and undernutrition in early childhood, many children have incomplete brain development. Based on the current population of more than one million, there will definitely be no more than 1,500 seeds that can be used as mages, and it is not even enough to have the number of arcanists in a floating city during the Nethril period.

It was for this reason that Henry intended to carry out a small industrial revolution, freeing at least a tenth of the population from heavy physical labor, receiving a certain amount of education, and then spreading to the surrounding areas. Only in this way can the population be improved, so as to get more mage seedlings.

Come to think of this. He set his eyes on the red-robed female mage who had been sitting silently beside her. "Ms. Sarah Brightman. I don't think what you need most is the crown. It's a safe place to practice magic, right? ”

"That's right, I've offended some people in Searle and I'm wanted. Joining the Iron Throne is nothing more than a stopgap measure, and if you can provide me with a relatively safe place, I don't mind taking those behind-the-scenes merchants out and selling them for a good price. ”

Sarah Brightman is very generous in admitting the fact that she was hunted. Perhaps for her, there is nothing in this world that cannot be traded except her own life. Searle's brutal political environment made this woman unusually shrewd and careful. Those dark blue eyes were like a pool of stagnant water, without any fluctuations at all.

"And what compensation do you want?" Henry asked with a nonchalant smile.

He attached great importance to the resources in the hands of the other party, knowing that it covered two countries, including more than a dozen large merchant groups. With these, it is natural that you can use some means to control and encroach, and it will not be long before you can use it for yourself.

"It's simple, a safe enough place to learn magic, a large amount of compensation, at least 100,000 gold coins. Other than that. I also need a couple of slaves and apprentices. Sarah Brightman unceremoniously asked. She knew the value of the list in her hands, so she went straight to the point. After all, I'm a mage. Improving one's spellcasting ability is fundamental, otherwise no matter how rich and powerful you are, you won't be able to last long.

Henry nodded slightly. "No problem, your request can be met completely. I have three options to choose from, first, the Mage Tower in the Angome Islands, where this mage group is stationed, and there are several spellcasters above level fifteen, I believe that even if the legendary mage comes, he will not dare to do it lightly. ”

"Second, I also have a mage tower in Am, which is relatively secretive, and there is also a spellcaster above level fifteen."

"Thirdly, I'm building a new mage tower in Weywood City, which is about to be built, and all the surrounding areas are savage lands, and the main inhabitants are orcs, as long as you change your appearance and clothing, I believe no one will think that you are hiding inside. However, you must provide magical assistance to the orcs, and the Mage Tower is only a stewardship, not an ownership. ”

Sarah Brightman raised her hand and stroked the ugly scar on her face, her brow furrowed as she considered the gains and losses. Obviously, the first rule is absolutely safe enough, but at the same time it means that there is no freedom, and every activity will be monitored. The second one is not considered at all, everyone knows that Amm is the world of masked mages, and it is very troublesome to buy both magic scrolls and alchemy raw materials. At the moment, it seems that only the third article is the most appropriate.

Weywood City has not yet broken ground, but it is close to the Supreme Wasteland. Not only did they have access to a large number of precious materials, but they also provided countless slaves and test specimens. Although there is no protection from anyone, with the defense function of the mage tower, you can escape even if you can't win the battle.

After thinking clearly, she said to Henry without hesitation: "Third, I choose to go to the wilderness. But you'll have to offer some assistance, like scrolls, some alchemy materials, and of course, I'll pay the gold at the market price. ”

"No problem, tomorrow I will send someone to start building the Mage Tower, and it will be completed in half a month at most. Just a word of caution, you'd better not make contact with other forces, or I'll stop this protection as soon as I get hunted by the Harpists League or the Church of the Good God. Henry stern warned. You must know that these red-robed mages don't have a fuel-efficient lamp, and he doesn't want to be used by others for no reason, and then stupidly go to be a shield.

"Don't worry, I will live in seclusion in the future, and I will never show up in public unless necessary. Here's the list you want, marked with red ink on it are some ambitious guys, I personally recommend that it is better not to clash head-on, and it is a good choice to (poison) or assassination. ”

With that, Sarah Brightman placed a piece of Kalinsan's peculiar papyrus on the table. She could see Henry's plan at a glance, and by the way, she mentioned a little Jianyi. The red-robed witch knew very well that in the future, whether it was a high-level spell scroll or a book, she could only buy it through the young human in front of her, so she specially sold her favor. (To be continued......)