"Orbital Magic?" Talia scratched her head, a name she hadn't expected.
She had been imagining something like thunder bombardments, divine light, or ultimate lightning strikes.
But Romon was more concerned and asked, "How many times can you use this magic in a day? And if there's enough magic crystal supply, how many times can you use it then?"
"Well, if I've had enough sleep, I can use it three times. But as for the 'enough magic crystal supply' part, I don't know. I've never heard of that condition before," Talia said.
Each magic crystal was quite valuable, and even using a small fragment made her feel reluctant. So how could she imagine a situation where there's enough magic crystal supply?
"What I mean is, can your body handle it? Or after using a lot of magic crystals, will your body develop some sort of magic resistance? Also, even if you have plenty of mana, wouldn't precision strikes still require mental focus? How long can your mental strength hold out?"
Romon fired off many questions at once, but each one was crucial. Talia's magic was incredibly useful, especially with the war declaration from the Nightingale Lord. Using this magic for sieging cities would be highly effective.
Few cities could maintain a shielding magic barrier, like Stone Town, for instance, which had none at all.
When its gates are locked, it's defenseless against aerial bombardment.
"Well, for the first question, as long as the magic crystals are pure enough, there shouldn't be a problem. As for the second question, my mental strength can probably last for half of my usual daily life. After all, it requires a lot of concentration," Talia answered.
Talia's work schedule was very unstable. She could sleep peacefully during the day when everything was calm, and sometimes, when Romon wasn't paying attention, she would secretly take risks. At night, she would keep watch like an owl in the hallway.
In general, her sleep was fragmented, and she was active for about 16-18 hours a day.
Taking the shorter number for calculation, half of 16 hours would be 8 hours.
If she could maintain high-intensity bombardment for 8 hours, then forget about just one Stone Town. Even if there were ten Stone Towns, Romon would be confident in conquering them!
As for the magic crystals, he had more than enough of them.
The only issue was that someone would need to guard Talia to prevent any assassins from coming after her.
Talia was very good at countering assassins, but Romon didn't want her to waste time fighting assassins, especially when she could be focusing on the siege.
So, who could guard her?
Pito from the Centaur tribe? Nini, the cat-eared girl?
Both of them were more suited for offense, not defense.
Angelia might have some defensive abilities, but as a princess, it was impossible for her to take on such a role.
Moreover, if the princess were truly able to go to the battlefield, Romon wouldn't need to fight at all. The princess could simply walk through and crush everything! Who would dare to harm even a single hair on the princess?
After thinking it over, Romon realized the problem—his territory was still lacking in troops!
There were only 21 Centaurs, which was far from enough. Even if each one was a Spartan warrior, he would need at least 300.
"Talia, do you have many friends in Stone Town?" Romon asked, looking at her.
She tilted her head back, her wizard hat brim just covering her eyes, so her gaze was right in line with Romon's eyebrows.
"Not many, actually. Since my magic isn't very popular, few people want to team up with me when adventuring. The friends I'm close with are childhood companions. Some became adventurers, others opened flower shops, and some run ranches," Talia replied.
"Recently, there may be some friction between the territories. If your friends are interested in developing in Thune, I will approve some special benefits for them. You can pass the message along to them. Also, make sure to stay safe."
Hearing this, Talia's eyes brightened. This was a perfect opportunity to show off in front of her friends. She could make herself stand out, and with just one word, she could arrange stable positions for her network of connections.
"I understand, Lord Romon. I'll go tell them right away."
"Ride my white horse and go."
Romon had left Matthews' territory the previous night using a ground dragon carriage. The Nightingale Lord's delay didn't bother him much; at most, he would notify the Stone Town City Hall via letter and declare a wartime status. But for Princess Angelia's estate, this logistical route was essential. Unless the Nightingale Lord himself came to issue orders, Stone Town's City Hall wouldn't dare to offend them.
Watching Talia head down the mountain, Romon and Lornis returned to the castle.
Lornis brought hot water and a towel, gently wiping Romon's face and forehead.
"My lord, you mentioned there might be friction between the territories. Should we prepare some supplies in advance?" she asked softly.
"It's a good idea to prepare some. But no need to panic. If the Nightingale dares to block the princess's path, I'll respect him as a man," Romon replied.
"My lord." Lornis moved behind Romon, massaging his shoulders. "It seems like this trip to Matthews' territory won't be smooth."
"No, overall it's been fine. The Great Wilderness next to the Big Forest now belongs to us," Romon said. Upon mentioning the Great Wilderness, he suddenly remembered that he needed to quickly arrange manpower to develop the area. "By the way, send orders down. Have half of the Centaur knights go explore the Great Wilderness. They need to become very familiar with the new land."
"Yes, my lord."
Romon opened the simulator in his mind, looking at the countdown. There were only 10 hours left before he could run another simulation.
New land, new simulations, and war with the Nightingale Lord.
If all went well, this would be a turning point for Thune's explosive development.
He waited quietly.
...
Ten hours later.
Romon stood by the cool window, the sky still dim, and the room somewhat dark.
He opened the simulator to check the results.
[Population: 110]
[Food: 2500]
[Production Capacity: 30]
[Economic Strength: 501]
[Cultural Value: 25]
[Military Power: 222]
[Territory: Sionnas Empire]
[Remaining Simulation Rounds: 9, cooldown 10 days]
After ten days of development, the population had increased slightly—not from newborns, but from people settling in. The settlement conversion rate was still very low and could be ignored.
Food had been stockpiled to supply the craftsmen's meals.
With the increase in mining and dungeon production capacity, the economy grew steadily. But Romon was more concerned with the cultural value.
Last time, the cultural value had spiked to 19, but the statue of the goddess wasn't yet finished. Now that it was completed, the cultural value had reached 25.
The increase in military power was mostly thanks to Talia. Her Orbital Magic was still in its early stages, but its future potential was already clear.
Now.
The territory was divided into three parts. The main area remained the barren old land, with the Great Forest to the north and the Great Wilderness to the northwest.
The Great Wilderness was many times larger than the main territory. From the map, it appeared as a vast green plain.
Ten Centaur knights were still galloping across the plains, their exploration task far from complete.
While Romon could investigate the plains using blueprints, it was all about the scale. If there were any hidden treasures in the real geography, they wouldn't show up on his small map. And if he were to zoom in on the map to view the details, it would turn into a massive map. The process of scrolling inch by inch would be far less efficient than the Centaur knights' exploration.
As per the usual protocol, explorers would leave simple markers indicating the locations of certain things. However, the Centaur knights didn't need to stop and deal with these markers—exploration efficiency was their primary concern.
Soon enough.
Romon noticed a series of repeated markers, each displaying a simple icon of a fierce wolf's head.
He zoomed in on the map following the markers, and immediately, large packs of wolves appeared in his view.
These weren't just any wild wolves; they were bloodthirsty wolves from the monster species. At a glance, their fur looked like black steel, and when they opened their mouths, their teeth glowed a terrifying crimson red.
The bloodthirsty wolves weren't as large as giant wild boars, but their size was more similar to that of adult horses.
Even so, they were still quite large by human standards.
What was more alarming, however, was that they didn't move alone but in packs.
If Romon wanted to develop this vast Great Wilderness, he would need to deal with these bloodthirsty wolves. Aside from using magical ranged bombardment, he couldn't think of any other solution.
If the wolf king, which was being tamed, sensed something was off, it could lead the pack charging toward the main part of Thune territory. By the time the Nightingale Lord arrived, the wolf pack could overwhelm Thune like a black tide.
The Nightingale Lord might be cautious of the princess's status, but the bloodthirsty wolves wouldn't care about that at all.
Romon examined the wolf king through his blueprint. It was more robust in build, and its teeth were even stronger and sharper.
"Such a fine specimen... If only I could tame this wolf king as a mounts..."