Five laborers continued to care for the farmland.
Two laborers worked the mine.
Three laborers focused on cutting wood and construction.
After only one day, Toji Hisami’s laborers gained Basic Mining and Basic Woodcutting skills, the three who had been building from the beginning also obtained additional Construction abilities.
If these laborers were taken to the market right now, selling each of them for ten gold coins would not be a problem. At the very beginning, a single laborer had only been worth one gold coin.
On the sixth day, Toji Hisami completed every required construction.
Once construction permissions were unlocked in the territory, the completed buildings gained corresponding abilities.
For example, without permission, a mill could only grind flour slowly through pure manual labor. After the territory opened the permission, the mill received an automatic speed bonus, and only one person was needed to operate it.
When the final warehouse door was installed, the lord’s emblem tattoo on Toji Hisami’s chest suddenly heated up.
[Congratulations on completing all the requirements of a Level 1 Territory.]
[Void Ocean Territory 07 has officially been promoted to a Level 1 Territory.]
[You are the tenth lord to be promoted to a Level 1 Territory. The ranking list will now be officially released.]
[Those who enter the top ten will receive certain rewards based on their ranking.]
[After the territory is promoted to Level 2, cross-territory trading will be opened.]
[Level 2 Territory requirements: Population 50, 2 Mills, 2 Warehouses, 5 Workshops, 20 Cottages, 20 Grain Fields, 50 Food.]
[Additional Level 2 requirements: Open the Military Division, build 1 Barracks, and 10 Defense Structures.]
[Note: Excessive food storage will attract enemies from the wilderness, after defeating the enemies, the Military Division will be opened.]
Toji Hisami turned around and saw that the Lord’s Hall behind him had risen by one full section, transforming into a proper two-story building.
He walked inside to take a look. The original resting room had been moved to the second floor, while the entire first floor had become a more spacious office area.
"I didn’t expect to be the tenth to get promoted," he muttered to himself. Yet his mood was not low at all.
He had been suppressed and had his starting resources cut, but even under those conditions he had still entered the top ten. That alone was enough to prove his strength.
As long as he was given enough time, he would only grow stronger and faster.
The rewards of Heaven Rewards Diligence were simply that unreasonable.
As for the final note in the territory information, Toji Hisami was not surprised. He had already learned all of this while studying at the Sacred Academy, the solution was simple, strengthen the patrols of the militia.
In the early stages, the so-called enemies from the wilderness were nothing more than wild beasts. Their levels would not be high, and with the current strength of his militia, dealing with them would not be difficult.
Once those beasts lured by the food were killed, the Military Division of the territory would open, and he could begin building a proper military force... At that time, his group of militia would be able to advance into stronger military professions.
After the territory upgraded, the appearance of every building became more refined, what had once looked like a rough settlement now resembled a small, orderly village.
At that moment, a beam of light descended from the sky and landed directly in front of the Lord’s Hall. When the light faded, neatly stacked large boxes remained in its place.
These were the rewards for Toji Hisami’s promotion to a Level 1 Territory.
Even though he had only ranked tenth, the number of boxes was still considerable. These rewards were projected directly by the highest-dimensional power, no one could interfere with them or replace them.
Toji Hisami rubbed his hands together and quickly went down to open the boxes one by one.
[Congratulations, you have obtained 10 units of population.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 10 oxen.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 10 sets of fine equipment.]
...
The ten boxes were opened in succession. The dazzling rewards almost made his eyes shine.
In the end, the highest-dimensional power had granted him ten additional laborers, ten oxen, and ten sets of militia equipment. There were also ten units of high-quality food, one hundred units each of wood, stone, and iron ore.
Finally, a golden token appeared. After equipping it, Toji Hisami gained an effect of +1 Energy.
This was an unexpected bonus.
After all, the principle of Heaven Rewards Diligence also applied to him. With higher energy, he would have more time to convert into tangible progress.
Looking at the gradually setting sun on the horizon, Toji Hisami waved his hand.
If the rewards for tenth place were already this generous, then the rewards for the nine people ahead of him, and especially for first place, must be even more tempting.
Next time, he would aim for the top three. He would even try to challenge for first place.
He silently set that goal for himself.
The ten new laborers were summoned immediately. Toji Hisami assigned work to every single one of them without leaving anyone idle.
Even though night had already fallen, the entire territory remained bustling with activity.
And so, the seventh day arrived.
When the sky had just turned completely white, a deep rumbling sound suddenly came from the distance.
A long train made up of dozens of carriages slowly approached Toji Hisami’s territory, the locomotive at the front was designed in a heavy steam style, constantly emitting billowing smoke.
Yet this world was filled with magical power after all. Upon closer observation, Toji Hisami noticed that the train was actually floating slightly above the ground.
From the moment it appeared on the horizon to the moment it arrived at the edge of the territory, less than ten minutes had passed.
Kachik!
A sharp sound of released air rang out as the doors on both sides of the locomotive opened.
A man dressed in a formal suit stepped down.
When he saw the scale of Toji Hisami’s territory, a smile appeared on his face.
"Hello, my respected Lord. I am the conductor of the patrol train, you may call me Max."
The man bowed politely to Toji Hisami, who had just walked out of the Lord’s Hall, and spoke in a calm, measured tone.