When the lords arrived at the Lord’s Hall, everyone was still in a daze.
In fact, they had imagined that Toji Hisami would possess a secondary profession.
Because Toji Hisami’s shield guards were so remarkably strong, with such a formidable unit, the professional development level of the territory would certainly not be low.
However, they had not expected that a mere farmer would hold a second-level occupation.
Moreover, that farmer possessed multiple professional traits.
Second-level professions generally carried the suffix "member", but once an individual possessed expert traits, they automatically became an expert.
What did the concept of an expert entail? It meant a strong individual who guaranteed a 50% bonus to their corresponding professional efficiency.
With them present, the output of a field would be multiplied by at least three, completely eliminating any concern over farmland productivity.
Agricultural experts knew far more about how to protect and cultivate farmland than the lords themselves.
In the territories of these other lords, at most the lowest level of civilians could be upgraded to farmers, which was merely a first-level profession.
A second-level profession was something they did not even dare to dream about, let alone second-level professions with specialized traits and expert qualifications.
Normally, a thousand farmers might not produce a single expert.
Unless a territory had been upgraded to include a professional skills school, allowing for targeted training, such a feat was impossible.
However, that was a matter for an intermediate territory at the very least, far beyond what trainee lords like them could consider.
Toji Hisami, Lyra, and Boris were all slightly surprised by the state of the visiting lords.
He had thought they were worried about their points.
Only Lena, who had received the patrol guard’s report, vaguely guessed the truth, the corners of her mouth curving into a charming arc.
The territorial affairs officer had grown increasingly intellectual and refined.
Her charm radiated through every movement, causing several lords’ faces to turn red.
Everyone sat neatly at both ends of the long table, and Lena assigned each of them a report covering the day’s agenda.
Then, like Lyra, she stood behind Toji Hisami while holding her notebook.
These two beauties—one an iceberg, the other a rose—each possessed a distinct style that was thoroughly eye-catching.
However, since both belonged to Toji Hisami’s side, none of the lords dared to stare, immediately focusing their attention on the issues outlined before them.
There were not many topics, totaling only two in all.
The first was for each territory to choose its own specialized direction, allowing the Heaven Drive Alliance to develop across multiple fields.
The second was to form a joint exploration team led by Boris to venture out and earn points.
The first initiative was designed to allow the Heaven Drive Alliance to develop in the shortest possible timeframe.
Currently, including Toji Hisami, there were thirteen lords in total.
Leaving Toji Hisami aside, he had no issues regarding territory development.
Boris’s territory was roughly equivalent to Toji Hisami’s and fell within his overall blueprint; Lena had already drawn up a complete plan for it.
Therefore, it was best for the remaining members to specialize according to the traits required for rapid operational development.
For example, a few could focus on shipping or fisheries, while several others concentrated on agriculture.
Some would specialize in trade and transportation, while others handled mining or animal husbandry.
In short, the responsibilities were spread out.
Only in this way could existing resources be utilized most effectively, making it convenient for Toji Hisami to provide targeted subsidies.
After all, despite the abundance of large resource packages, they could not sustain the redundant, uncoordinated development of thirteen separate territories.
Everyone understood this logic.
They also recognized that this was the optimal path forward.
As for the second agenda item, it required even less explanation.
As an alliance member, when venturing out to clear light beams, points could be shared.
In other words, upon encountering a beam of light, Boris would lead the alliance forces to defeat it.
Each participating lord could earn eighty to one hundred points in profit.
The slight variation occurred because of differences in individual unit performance.
Overall, however, the returns from alliance combat were several to ten times higher than those from solo battles.
Such was the power of a true alliance.
This was an advantage that today’s so-called informal alliances could never match.
When those informal groups cleared a light beam, the points belonged strictly to the individual who landed the strike, leaving only physical rewards for distribution.
Thus, from the very beginning, Toji Hisami had looked down upon invitations from those temporary alliances.
To him, such setups were entirely redundant and unnecessary.
However, what the lords of the Heaven Drive Alliance did not fully understand was why Boris was selected to lead the team.
Although Boris was extremely strong, Toji Hisami was even stronger.
If Toji Hisami led the team, could they not potentially harvest some A-level light beams?
As the highest tier below S-level, the rewards from an A-level light beam were exceptional.
To Toji Hisami, they might be ordinary, but for the others, they represented a qualitative leap.
Noticing everyone’s questioning gazes, the veins on Boris’s face bulged slightly.
Yet the burly warrior did not voice his thoughts.
He knew the people present did not know him well enough, whereas they had witnessed Toji Hisami’s prowess firsthand.
Having doubts in their minds was entirely natural.
Toji Hisami understood this clearly, but he did not alter his decision.
"Boris is extremely strong; that is all you need to know," Toji Hisami stated calmly.
"Each of you will hand over a squad of fifty troops, and every expedition will last for one week."
The long search and battle duration of one week was established because as lords were dispatched across the region, fewer and fewer light pillars would remain.
Therefore, in addition to light beams, they also had to actively search for mysterious forces.
After Toji Hisami wiped out the orcs previously, his points updated on the second day.
He was awarded five hundred points directly.
That was a reward on the same level as an S-class light beam, demonstrating how critical those mysterious forces were.
Including travel and search time, a week was just about right.
There were four weeks remaining until the end of the assessment. As long as Boris could secure 1,500 points each trip, their standing would be completely secure.
While this goal sounded difficult, it was entirely achievable depending on who attempted it.
Boris’s Flying Tiger Cavalry was undeniably counted among the top tier of combat power in the Eastern District.
Aside from Toji Hisami, no one could compare to him.
The Heaven Drive Alliance now stood as the definitive symbol of combat power in the Eastern District.
Lena stepped forward beside Toji Hisami and briefed everyone on the Heaven Drive Alliance’s standing across the Eastern District.
Following her explanation, everyone felt completely reassured.
At the same time, they marvelled at the fact that someone as powerful as Boris had brought his entire household to join Toji Hisami right from the start.
Truly, a powerful individual possessed a far different vision.
By contrast, the group of lords in the temporary alliances were acting foolishly.
Focused solely on petty immediate gains, they had offended Toji Hisami and would certainly face a grim future.
Furthermore, those alliance lords mostly hailed from prominent families.
They held a deep-seated disdain for commoner lords, making future conflicts inevitable.
Commoner lords not led by Toji Hisami would likely become the primary victims of this assessment.
Reflecting on this, most of the lords present—being commoners themselves—could not help but feel heavy-hearted.
Yet they lacked any right to ask Toji Hisami to save those people.
The assessment was brutal, and the pass rate was low.
What if forcing Toji Hisami to shoulder burdens he shouldn’t carry ended up dragging them all down?
In the end, human nature was inherently self-preserving.
In these times, true selflessness was rare.
The alliance meeting swiftly passed every resolution.
After Toji Hisami announced the adjournment, he went with Boris and Lyra to prepare the strike team.
However, the other lords remained behind, each offering compliments to Lena to keep her from leaving.
Looking somewhat bewildered, Lena pushed up her glasses and looked at the assembled lords.
"May I ask what the lords require?" Lena inquired.
"Well, Officer Lena... we were thinking of staying to study in Jiuzhou for a few days. Would that be convenient?" the lord chosen to speak asked with a blush.
Dignified lords were actually asking an administrator for guidance on territory development—it was almost embarrassing to admit aloud.
If their mentors back at the Sacred Academy found out, they would likely be hung up and beaten.
With nearly a thousand years of accumulated knowledge, the Sacred Academy’s curriculum on territory development was thoroughly perfected.
Virtually no technique was left untaught.
If a student studied diligently at the Sacred Academy, they were guaranteed to become a competent lord.
Yet the Heaven Drive lords truly could not comprehend why the citizens of the Jiuzhou Territory were so exceptionally capable.
During the meeting just now, Lena had not only helped everyone select their development paths, but she had also mentioned the corresponding support the Jiuzhou Territory would supply.
For those developing agriculture, Jiuzhou would provide a batch of high-quality seeds and specialized fertilizers.
For industrial development, Jiuzhou would initially provide a group of master craftsmen holding professional titles to lead production and supply raw materials.
Whatever direction was chosen, the Jiuzhou Territory could provide assistance, appearing virtually omnipotent.
This realization shocked everyone once again.
No matter how powerful the Jiuzhou Territory was in their minds, it could not possibly be all-capable, could it?
They already knew that Toji Hisami was following a balanced development route.
The balanced route was famous for having no strict limitations, but that did not mean one could master and develop everything at once.
If that were the case, balanced territories would not be so rare and compact.
Furthermore, the Jiuzhou Territory was supplying them with far more than mere raw materials or tools.
They were also providing matching instructors!