One day later, Boris’s subjects arrived in the valley.
The next day, the lords who had gone to relocate their territories also returned one after another.
Unlike Boris, they basically did not leave behind any buildings or items they could take with them.
What could not be carried away was broken down into raw materials, leaving nothing to waste.
For these lords, the investment from the first three months was essentially abandoned.
If they did not possess absolute confidence in Toji Hisami, they would not have been able to make such a decision.
However, after witnessing Toji Hisami’s series of operations, how could these lords who had connected with Heaven Drive still hesitate?
The continuous relocation team formed a long queue in the wilderness, slowly heading toward the area where Toji Hisami’s territory was located.
This valley was not far from Toji Hisami’s territory. After all, he had arrived here within a single day.
Because they had been forced to fight in the valley, they had lost many of the warhorses they had worked so hard to train.
The remaining warhorses were retrieved by Toji Hisami.
No horse farms had been discovered yet, so these rare horses could not be wasted under any circumstances.
On the way back, they also encountered some lesser lords wandering about, searching for light pillars.
When they saw the unfurled flags depicting the Heaven Drive symbol alongside the banners of Jiuzhou, they all displayed envious expressions.
Some immediately caught up to ask if they could join Heaven Drive.
However, they were all declined by Toji Hisami.
The number of spots within the Heaven Drive organization was limited, and in these early stages, they had to be reserved for people he approved of.
The group traveling with him had already passed his test while in the valley, so they were naturally qualified to join.
If other lords wanted to join, it would not be that simple.
Seeing this situation, the lords who had already joined the alliance displayed reserved smiles on their faces.
Sitting atop their horses, they even straightened their backs to make themselves look more majestic.
Watching those rejected lords leave in disappointment, each of them felt secretly pleased.
At the same time, it reinforced their resolve to strengthen themselves.
After all, the alliance leader Toji Hisami was simply too strong, which also meant immense pressure for them.
As Toji Hisami grew stronger, more and more powerful individuals would inevitably join in the future.
If they did not work harder, they might have no choice but to be left behind later on.
They believed that Toji Hisami would not directly drive them away.
However, if they were asked to step aside from the alliance to make room for others, it would not look good if spoken aloud.
The group continued on in this manner. The journey that had taken Toji Hisami only one day took the larger force three days.
Three days later, they finally arrived at the region where the Jiuzhou Territory was located.
From a distance, one could see the three-meter-high city wall, as well as the surrounding farmland and workshops.
The well-organized territory with its crisscrossed streets made people feel particularly refreshed.
Although Boris was not adept at managing territories, he had seen many excellent ones.
If one possessed enough knowledge, they would naturally understand certain things.
In his view, Toji Hisami’s territory had developed with extreme prosperity, both in terms of layout and the citizens under his control.
On the way here, Toji Hisami had already planned out the specific location of everyone’s respective territories.
An initial territory measured twenty square kilometers.
After upgrading to a fifth-level territory, it expanded to forty square kilometers, and Toji Hisami allocated an additional ten square kilometers to each person to prepare for subsequent development and expansion.
Furthermore, a distance of ten kilometers was maintained between the territories.
On the map, Toji Hisami spread the territories of the Heaven Drive members across this entire region, extending all the way to the low hills in the west.
In the past, he had held only a single territory here, requiring the three territories behind the low hill to serve as sentries.
Now that more than ten lords had joined, it was enough to form a complete defensive line.
Toji Hisami did not intend to forcibly drive away those three original territories.
However, as the other members’ territories developed and encroached upon their growth space, those parties would naturally move away on their own.
Boris’s territory was placed right next to the Jiuzhou Territory.
As the strongest lord in Jiuzhou Territory aside from Toji Hisami, he would shoulder the primary combat responsibilities for Heaven Drive.
Toji Hisami instructed the lords of the Heaven Drive Alliance to assign a specialized force to Boris for daily training.
Boris did not need to manage his own territory; all matters related to his land would be taken over directly by Toji Hisami.
When the others heard about this arrangement, they could not help but cast a few extra glances at Boris.
They could not comprehend how a person as strange as Boris existed.
Yet with one bold enough to offer and the other bold enough to accept, it forced the others to feel a sense of admiration.
Each lord directed their respective subjects to their designated areas to lay out their territories.
After the initial settlements were established, they gathered back at the Jiuzhou Territory together.
This was because the Heaven Drive Alliance was about to hold its very first meeting.
They needed to discuss future development matters.
During their migration, many lords in the East District had continued searching for light beams and expanding their territories.
Everyone else’s points had increased, whereas their side had gained no new points during the move.
So when they heard that Toji Hisami was going to issue arrangements, everyone rushed over eagerly.
However, the moment they stepped into the Jiuzhou Territory, they were instantly filled with shock.
Setting aside the wide, straight roads and the large transport carriages coming and going, as the group of lords passed by a golden plowed field, they overheard the farmers chatting among themselves.
"I think the next time you apply fertilizer, you might want to add a bit of lizard powder."
"Oh? Should I use the hot-dissolving method or the cold-steeping method? I feel like using the three-stage technique taught at school would work best."
"Well, indeed, if combined with three separate steps, the overall effect should increase by 5%."
"If it increases by 5%, the efficiency of our field would reach 85%. That is not bad at all, quite an improvement."
The lords remained silent.
Among these several lords were many experts in territory management, as that was their primary focus of study at the Sacred Academy.
Yet they found themselves feeling slightly dizzy right now.
The topic these farmers were discussing already involved high-end agricultural and forestry knowledge.
This was not something ordinary farmers were supposed to understand!
Generally speaking, a territory would recruit specialized agricultural and animal husbandry experts to guide farmers in making improvements, rather than having everyday farmers decide how to boost efficiency during casual conversation.
They could not help but look into the distance. Fertile fields stretched as far as the eye could see, populated by countless farmers like these.
A curious lord quietly used a reconnaissance skill to inspect the farmers’ information.
As a result, the two farmers who were chatting suddenly frowned and turned their heads directly toward them.
Then, under the astonished gazes of all the lords, they blew the whistles hanging around their necks.
A short moment later, a patrol squad marched over.
"Sir, these individuals used detection skills on us without cause, violating territorial security regulations."
The lords stood frozen.
The captain of the patrol squad frowned.
He could tell at a glance that the identities of these people standing by the roadside were not simple.
It was not because their clothing was luxurious; in fact, the attire of the territory’s citizens looked far better than theirs.
Rather, this group carried a distinct air about them, the demeanor of superiors.
As a citizen of this territory, the captain naturally possessed a keen sense for lords.
Just as low-level lords felt a weight when facing high-level lords, he recognized that pressure immediately.
The patrol captain suddenly recalled something.
Before their morning drills, Captain Li Xu had mentioned that other lords from the Heaven Drive Alliance would be coming over for a meeting today.
"Everyone, could it be that you are the lords of Heaven Drive?"
"Ah, yes, that is correct. Apologies, we were unaware that detection skills could not be used casually inside Jiuzhou Territory," the lord who had used the reconnaissance skill spoke politely to the patrol leader.
The squad leader did not dwell on the matter, explaining the situation to the farmers before stepping forward to greet the lords.
The lords were in a complex state of mind, following the patrol captain toward the Lord’s Hall.
On the way over, several lords looked at the one who had just used the reconnaissance skill.
Some were curious as to why his attitude had become so submissive.
They were lords themselves; even if they respected Toji Hisami, there was no need to act so polite toward an ordinary patrol captain, was there?
"You went a bit overboard with the act, brother."
However, that lord smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Do you know what I just saw with my detection skill?"
"What?"
"Those two farmers... guess what level they were."
"Level ten? Farmers cannot fight, so how high could their level be?"
"Tenth level? One was level eighteen, and the other was level twenty!"
The lords walking alongside him gasped.
As was widely known, it was hardest for citizens with production-oriented occupations to raise their levels.
Only through the slow accumulation of farming over long periods could they steadily gain experience.
Normally, only after years of development could a territory produce level twenty farmers, whose efficiency would increase alongside their level.
Yet it had been only three months since everyone entered the trial.
At this moment, the lord walking ahead overheard the hushed exchange behind him and could not refrain from turning back.
"Even so, you do not need to act so subservient, do you?"
"Tsk, I have not finished speaking yet."
"Speak quickly then!"
"I saw that both of those farmers possess secondary professions and carry the traits of agricultural experts!"
"The one at level twenty even possesses the traits of an agriculture and forestry expert, plus an animal husbandry expert! Three traits in total!"
Every single lord present could no longer contain their shock, drawing in sharp breaths at once.
The patrol leader guiding them turned his head back in confusion.
What was going on? Why were these lords acting so thoroughly startled?