Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 427 Party A Party B
Of course, the total cost of less than a hundred gold coins was commonplace in the eyes of the mage, but for Münster, who was in charge of the matter...

These refugees, whom we had worked so hard to gather, were finally able to head to the territory. They had better be able to demonstrate their value to the mage lord, otherwise, not only would their leader be disappointed, but they themselves would also lose face.

Münster's thinking level improved significantly after he transformed from a warrior into a knight.

After the three groups of people—the indigenous people, the migrants, and the riverside villagers—merged together, the total population of the Northwest Territory of Gaoya finally exceeded one thousand, a cause for celebration.

But this is followed by a series of troubles and trivialities.

Humans are not animals; they cannot simply be thrown into the fields, fed with fodder, and survive, let alone undergo subsequent construction and development. Temporary dwellings such as tents are merely expedient measures. The planning and construction of housing and residential areas, functional buildings, and a whole host of other tasks are truly a headache.

It concerns the very foundation of our livelihood; no matter how difficult, we must accomplish it.

The sorcerer did not touch the village built by the remaining people of Gaoya. The most urgent task was to help the migrants and refugees who had no roof over their heads and were temporarily living in tents to build houses.

While the other team members carried out their respective tasks, the mage, along with Little, the dwarf architect, and Master Vader, the vice-president of the Stonemasons and Builders Guild of Neverwinter, arrived at a location near a mountain range in the largest plain in the center of the territory.

The terrain here is open, backed by cliffs, and in front lies what was once the most extensive and fertile farmland of Gaoyaling. Unfortunately, now only a patch of withered thatch remains, telling a story of desolation.

Looking up, the former lord's residence, High Cliff Fortress, sits not far away on a flat-topped cliff jutting out from the mountains.

Looking down from the mountaintop at the entire territory, the scenery of lakes, mountains, and plains unfolds before one's eyes. How spirited and exhilarated the Lord of High Cliff must have been at that time.

Unfortunately…

The man is gone, and the land where the mage once stood has fallen into decline because it is adjacent to Gaoyabao.

However, Master Zhang did not come here today to reminisce about the past.

Housing is a major issue concerning people's livelihood in any society. It's not that the people of the territory can't solve the problem by logging and quarrying, but that would make things easier for the government and would also ruin the villagers' spring planting and reclamation plans.

Given their capabilities and efficiency, this house will take forever to build.

The only option now is for me to take matters into my own hands.

"Master Wade, what do you think of this plan? Are there any problems with its load-bearing structure and building stability?"

Mr. Zhang was not stingy in showing his respect and humility towards the master architect in front of him, but the other party did not care much about the attitude shown by the monk, and instead had a lot of complaints.

"What do you think? I don't think it's very good."

Wade's attitude at this moment was exactly like that of a designer in his past life who had been driven to the brink of madness by those demanding clients.

However, unlike others, as the foremost architect of Neverwinter, Vader was not lacking in fame, fortune and status. Even the mage lord only managed to make contact with him through Sir Edmund, and was invited to his territory to guide the construction.

Communication between the two sides did not go smoothly. Vader, who had heard of this newly appointed lord, initially thought that the other party had come to him for the construction of a new castle, or at the very least for the restoration of the old High Cliff Castle. But after asking...

Good heavens, they're actually going to build houses for those farmers and refugees?!
Why the hell are you looking for me? You know, the bricklayer at the village entrance, just to the left, can do that too.
He brought a few assistants and followed a large group of more than a hundred refugees who had traveled a long way to the high cliff. At first, he thought these refugees were his helpers, but he never expected that they would actually be his clients.
Thinking that the other party was making fun of him, Vader almost immediately thought of turning around and leaving, and vowed never to pay attention to this nasty nouveau riche lord again.

"Why rush off? Why not take a look at my design drawings first?"

Upon hearing this, Wade felt as if his legs were being pulled by something, stiffening and making it difficult to take a step. He simply turned around to see what kind of nonsense the other party was up to.

"Please look."

Zhang Yuan handed over the meticulously drawn blueprints with a calm expression, but secretly he was laughing to himself.

If you can even walk, that's a miracle. Just now, the mage's paralyzing touch silently invaded Vader's lower limbs. The poor master only thought it was because the early spring was not warm enough, causing his old leg pain to flare up. Little did he know that it was this guy next to him who was secretly causing trouble.

After carefully examining the blueprints, Vader finally gave a less-than-stellar review, not because the architectural design was too unappealing.

On the contrary, Wade, who was immediately struck by the novel architectural style, felt that it had a unique style and aesthetic appeal, and what was even more remarkable was its practicality.

Honestly, if this design hadn't been completely unheard of before, Wade would have thought that the other party had secretly hired another of his colleagues.

However, upon further examination, Wade quickly dismissed the idea.

Simply put, aside from its unique imagination, this design is completely amateurish in every detail, from the internal structure blueprint to the foundation plan.

If any competitor were to actually produce such a blueprint, they would surely be besieged and bankrupted by the victims whose homes were destroyed. Of course, it is more likely that they would be subjected to blood revenge by the victims who lost their homes. From then on, Faerûn would have one less scoundrel who produces shoddy goods, and the general public would be overjoyed.

In Vader's view, this was most likely something the lord had seen in some foreign land and was now showing off to him, shamelessly claiming it as his own creation.

It must be said that Master Vader did indeed guess the truth in a certain sense, but the concept of this foreign land was too far away, even beyond the concept of planes, and was left in the distant space-time on the other side.

"This type of building is called Tulou. It is a unique landscape that I saw when I traveled to my hometown in mainland China. In a region where conflicts often broke out, people built Tulou like this for their clans and villages. It was very suitable for both living together and defending against foreign enemies."

For once, Mr. Zhang showed a rare moment of decency, refraining from claiming the achievement as his own. His calm demeanor was tinged with a barely perceptible loneliness.

"Oh I got it."

Wade thought to himself that it was just as he expected, but he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Although the design drawings provided by the other party were extremely unreliable, he was already here...

The lord seems to have some sincerity, which is perfect. Wouldn't it be meaningful to perfect this unique architectural design myself?

As the saying goes, an expert can see the details; when Wade made a move, it was far more reliable than Zhang Yuan's own conjecture.

Thank you Jakrio_J for the monthly pass!

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(End of this chapter)