The sun slanted over the top of his head, casting light on one side of his shoulder as the crumbling rock walls of the Spear Camp appeared ahead.
Red-brown rocks were stacked into a line of defense against attackers. A river trench, several meters wide, wound down the slope, and a few thick tree trunks formed a makeshift gray-black wooden bridge, looking like an aging elder, resting on stone banks on either side, bearing the weight of the valley's history.
The cart crossed the creaky wooden bridge cautiously. The rock walls ahead appeared as old and desolate as the camp itself, with cracks filled with overgrown weeds.
"The chief is back!" a child shouted from afar.
"Chief!"
"Chief…"
A group of children ran over, shouting. The older ones were about ten years old, while the younger ones were just five or six. They followed the group of horses, jumping and calling. Kent dismounted with a smile, instantly surrounded by children.
Countless little hands curiously touched Kent's black armor, making it nearly impossible for him to move.
"Hey, you little rascals!" Splitting Blade scolded as he approached with a stern face, but the children, far from being afraid, laughed and threw themselves at him. Splitting Blade laughed heartily, reaching out his rough hand to pinch a cheek here, ruffle a head there.
Sitting in the cart, Waterstream watched this scene with great interest, doubting Kent's previous words.
Not to mention she had never seen a noble lord mingling with the common folk like this, even if Kent was gentle in nature. Hadn't he claimed to have arrived just a few days ago? How had he gotten so familiar with the children of the domain already?
Kent glanced at her intentionally, his gaze carrying a smile.
How could she have guessed that Kent had first blocked a tiger tribe's attack, then shared bear meat with the people, exempted them from hunting taxes, and even made everyone a delicious communal meal? In the minds of these humble residents, he was already akin to a savior.
This bond formed over a shared meal and life-or-death struggles was something Waterstream couldn't comprehend.
"Chief, you're back," said Gray Beard, jogging over from a distance.
"How did it go, Beard? All smooth?" Kent asked.
He'd been away for three days and two nights and wasn't sure if the work he'd arranged before leaving had been smoothly executed.
"All smooth, Chief," Gray Beard nodded. "Would you like me to take you to check it out?"
He noticed Waterstream jumping down from the cart, though her fur cloak was tattered. Such a beautiful woman was a rare sight in the valley. Silently, he averted his gaze, knowing some things were not his concern.
Spear Valley was a narrow valley stretching about ten kilometers from southwest to northeast. As one went deeper, the terrain became steeper until the forest was thick and rugged, and the steep mountain ridges blocked the path.
On the north side of the valley, along a well-lit slope, Kent had designated several residential zones. On the south side, he had constructed a few workshops, which he planned to use as an industrial area.
In the newly planned residential area, newly recruited laborers had been working for days, leveling the land. In a far corner, they had constructed a small stone hut with smoke rising from one side.
Entering the hut, a coal furnace stood in the center, with a tall chimney extending from it. At two meters, the chimney turned and extended outside, with a hole in the stone wall allowing the chimney to vent smoke outside.
"Chief, with this coal furnace, it sure is warm," said Gray Beard, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
"It is warm indeed." Kent nodded as he examined the mud and branches stuffed into the cracks in the stone walls. "But the building materials for these houses need to be improved."
"If we build with wood, won't it catch fire?" Splitting Blade asked.
"No wood," Kent replied, turning to Gray Beard. "Beard, is there any clay around here that's a bit sticky?"
"We have plenty of that," Gray Beard laughed. "The valley might lack treasures, but for clay, you'll find it everywhere."
Back in the territory, Kent stored the cart's valuable loot in the warehouse, while the rest was given first to families who had lost their husbands. The food on the cart also revitalized the community kitchen.
The satisfaction points in Kent's system began rising rapidly, exceeding fifty thousand.
Indeed, with more people working together, and once the cave tribe moved into the valley, implementing a few social policies would likely lead to a spike in satisfaction points.
However, as he earned more, his expenses also increased.
In the production system, after weighing his options between forging, construction, livestock rearing, and farming, Kent finally chose to unlock architecture first.
He had no choice but to "spend" carefully.
Over the past few days, Kent had gained an initial understanding of the system.
The system was like a recruitment and construction system, divided into four subsystems: Team, Production, Commerce, and Skills, each relatively independent. The cost of satisfaction points increased in a unique manner for each.
The Team and Skills subsystems were straightforwardly divided into levels. Each level contained three or four projects, like Level 1 of the Skills system, which included Prayers, Fireball, and Meditation. Completing Level 1 unlocked Level 2.
The Level 1 Team system followed a similar structure. After learning Coordinated Combat, Frenzied Fighting, and Formation Defense, the Level 2 Team system opened up, offering six additional team-supporting projects, with the first costing fifty thousand satisfaction points to unlock.
If the multiplier effect continued, completing Level 2 of the Team system would require a staggering 3.15 million satisfaction points.
The Production system was even more complex. It included forging, construction, farming, planting, livestock rearing, hunting, pharmacology, cooking, and many other sub-projects. Unlocking the first sub-project required ten thousand satisfaction points, while the second cost one hundred thousand.
For two hundred residents, each communal meal would generate an average of fifty satisfaction points per person, totaling ten thousand points.
That meant at least ten communal meals, each with variety, would be needed to maintain an average satisfaction level.
And this was just the Level 1 system cost—a staggering amount already. Who knew to what extent Kent would have to serve the people to support Level 2, Level 3, and beyond.
The newly unlocked Level 1 Architecture system contained several construction techniques: Rammed Earth Technique, House Construction Technique, and Kiln Construction Technique. Each technique could be broken down into several blueprints.
For instance, Rammed Earth included a wall-building technique using yellow earth and rammed construction using stone strips, stakes, and brick walls.
The House Construction included basic residences and workshops.
What surprised Kent the most was the Kiln Construction Technique. It provided blueprints for brick kilns and cement kilns, exactly what he needed to solve the current issues.
Kent now understood that the Production system was akin to a technology encyclopedia. However, the expensive upgrade costs prevented blind technical progression; the system only provided methods. Achieving rapid development also required improvements in personnel, materials, and production tools.
For example, if Kent wanted to forge stronger steel for superior weaponry in the age of cold weapons, he needed better refractory materials and more efficient bellows to reach higher furnace temperatures, which were prerequisites for technological advancement.
And simply copying the blueprints provided by the system without skilled personnel could lead to chaos if a problem arose in any part of the process.
But as far as he could see, the Production system only offered technology and methods; establishing a sustainable technical development system was up to Kent alone.
The only feasible approach he could think of was clear.
Undoubtedly, it was vocational training.