Aside from the cold-resistant Cave Dwellers, all houses belonging to Humans, Barbarians, and Half-Orcs were equipped with coal stoves.
The use of these stoves was straightforward. After a brief training session, each household or individual received enough coal to keep their stove burning for four or five days. Soon, smoke began to rise from the chimneys of many homes. Some Barbarians, less skilled at lighting fires, ended up filling their homes with thick black smoke. The accompanying rumbling coughs and the distinct wintery scent of coal smoke gradually filled the valley.
According to Kent's newly issued resource allocation policy for Spearhead Territory, all citizens—including the newly joined warriors of various tribes—must use Citizen Points to claim daily necessities. These included strategic resources like coal, minerals, and black oil, as well as building materials such as cement and bricks produced in the workshops.
Citizen Points were part of an entirely new system implemented in Spearhead Valley. It differed from the work credit system used in the past and was more akin to a form of virtual currency specific to the territory.
Due to the current limited reserve of currency and the absence of discovered gold or silver mines, a monetary-based wage system for thousands of residents would quickly deplete the coins and jewels looted from Bloodhammer Camp. Citizen Points provided a temporary solution.
Under the current point allocation system, whether mining, construction, hunting, or tasks such as cement production and land leveling, each task was assigned a challenging baseline target to be completed by small groups of citizens.
Only when the entire group met the target would points be distributed. Surpassing the target earned bonus points, while failing to meet it resulted in no points. Groups that consistently failed would be expelled from the valley.
This seemingly harsh system encouraged every group member to fully commit to their work. The rule of expulsion after repeated failures made slackers rare.
Compared to the widespread slavery in the Redsoil Continent that Kent remembered, this system was progressive.
Abolishing slavery itself was already a monumental step forward. Free housing, coal stoves, and communal meals—unlike anything seen elsewhere—were unprecedented benefits. Within this framework, systems motivating citizens to work harder and train diligently seemed only natural.
To the residents, Kent was a godlike figure.
The Citizen Points earned through labor and training could be used to purchase all available resources within Spearhead Territory, particularly coal. After experiencing the comfort of a warm house with a coal stove, families quickly consumed their four-to-five-day allotment. Beyond that, coal required Citizen Points to purchase.
Citizen Points could also be exchanged for currency at a rate of one point per copper coin. While points were valid only within the territory, incoming trade caravans meant that residents would eventually need actual currency to purchase external goods.
All resource transactions and point exchanges took place at the newly established Spearhead Red Star Fortress.
Yes, the spear and red star Kent had designed out of nostalgia had now become the territory's emblem.
Upon entering the ten-meter-high outer walls of the newly fortified Spearhead Valley, the transformation was evident.
The once ramshackle slope on the northern bank of the Spearhead River was now lined with neat rows of brick houses for Humans, stone houses for Barbarians, and dome-shaped homes for Half-Orcs. Many buildings remained unoccupied—future homes for incoming residents.
On the southern bank lay a sprawling, smoke-filled industrial area encircled by walls. Workshops for forging, brick-making, and cement production operated there. Large circular warehouses were under construction, intended for storing resources and finished products.
Further south, on the hillside, hundreds of caves were dug to house the Cave Dwellers.
Continuing along the residential areas on either side of the river, two training grounds—each the size of a large square—were visible, serving as drill fields for the Free Corps. Deeper into the valley, where it narrowed, a towering four-story fortress stood on the northern bank.
This partially constructed fortress was about two kilometers from the valley's first concrete wall. Its unique design featured stone-reinforced concrete frames, with wood and earth filling the gaps. Each section was coated with gravel-mixed concrete to enhance durability and defense.
This fortress was Kent's envisioned lord's castle.
He planned for this castle to serve as a secret research and development base for Spearhead Valley, where advanced technologies derived from the system could be tested and disseminated.
Another purpose of this construction was to train skilled builders. Organized into three teams of 200 Cave Dwellers each, workers rotated shifts.
Once the castle was completed, their next task would be to construct Spearhead Territory's first outer defensive stronghold in Bison Meadow.
At Splitting Blade's suggestion, Kent established an armed trade caravan named Spearhead Red Star. The fifteen single-horse carts looted from Bloodhammer Camp, along with the original three carts, were allocated to this caravan.
As planned, the upcoming full moon would bring representatives from the Red Tiger family—a branch of the Tiger King's lineage—to discuss a trade for magical armor. If successful, this would establish a trade route stretching from Spearhead Valley to the western edge of the Redsoil Continent at the Cold Ridge Mountains, marking a significant milestone.
The route offered both land and water options. The traditional land route through the Blackwood Forest, often used by the Forest Alliance, posed a high risk of encountering rebel Tiger forces. Alternatively, the southern detour through the hilly terrain of Splitting Blade Ridge made cart travel nearly impossible.
The safer choice was the waterway from Bison Meadow along the Red River, leading downstream to the southern base of the Cold Ridge Mountains before switching to land transport.
From both a strategic defensive standpoint and a future trade perspective, Bison Meadow was a key location.
Equipped with cement, bricks, and six hundred trained Cave Dweller builders, Kent was confident he could rapidly construct a basic defensive structure in Bison Meadow.
Once the Free Corps moved in for defense, armed with stone jar grenades and magical armor, Kent would no longer fear sporadic attacks from neighboring tribes.
Using this foundation, Bison Meadow could then develop fortifications, barracks, docks, and more. A concrete road connecting the meadow to the valley would enable swift troop and resource deployment.