Other than proper farmlands with enhanced vegetables that contained traces of origin energy, Michael made mental notes about a few more things they required to become fully independent.
Right now, the territory didn't rely on imported goods for food, water, or other resources other than the Agriculture-type blueprints, but he felt that this would change in the future if he didn't adapt to the developmental changes of his territory a little bit.
Altering the development path a little should negate his worries about the future entirely.
"Proper defensive mechanisms other than traps would be quite helpful as well. An Orb of Hostility of a higher grade shouldn't be neglected either," Michael mumbled as he returned from his long stroll.
He met up with Tiara, the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team, Blaire, and the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King, Sun Demos, to discuss a few key points. They had to speak about the development of the territory, news about the surrounding area, new information related to the Zentika Empire, and so on.
Sun Demos could only converse with Michael properly because the Taming Soultrait created a channel between them. Their thoughts reached the other party telepathically, which made it easier to comprehend what Sun Demos intended to convey.
The Monkey King pinpointed various locations with rare herbs, small caves, and hunting targets. Sun Demos even pointed out potential taming targets, which was something that interested Michael quite a bit. Michael had yet to tame a second monster using his 5-Star Taming Soultrait.
He was not entirely sure how many more monsters he could tame, but by taking into consideration how much of Taming's space Sun Demos took, Michael could make a rough guess.
"I can probably tame two more Superior Existences at the 2nd Tier at my rank," Michael mumbled, though unsure what kind of monster he should tame.
Would it be better to focus on taming more monster leaders, or was he better off taming Superior Existences with exceptional potential at this point? Sun Demos' talent was not bad, but he doubted that the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys could reach the 3rd Tier. Only Sun Demos might be talented enough to barely cross to the 3rd Tier somewhen.
"You're not in a rush to use up Taming's space, so how about you use it once you think that you found a suitable target?" Lilica suggested with a thin smile on her lips.
"I think Lilica is right. We should also focus more on the farmlands and the defenses of the territory. Most monsters avoid our territory because we're hunting them down one after another, but it's only a matter of time before the Rulers of the middle area will be fed up with us. The Forest Pixie, the Nature Spirit and the highly potent effect of the Untamed Jungle's environment will solve the food issue rather quickly, but our weak defenses won't strengthen themselves that quickly. It will require lots of time, effort, and countless hands of support to create a fortress-like defense strong enough to block the attacks of the middle area's Rulers," Liopham said seriously.
Liopham didn't want to think about encountering one of the Rulers, but given that Michael's territory expanded much faster than most territories, they were bound to face trouble soon enough.
Micahel's territory expanded rapidly. He summoned numerous Starless Summons and even talented 2-Star Summons. However, the number of his combatants was way too low.
Michael's army was barely 5% of his population. That may sound like a lot at first glance, but his soldiers were not strong enough.
"We have to find a river as well. The Forest Whisperers said that they traced something but they're not sure if the energy particles were from a Monster with a water elemental ability, or if the traces of water-attributed energy come from a river," Opars Zelk presented another issue.
He noticed that Michael and the others looked at him with intrigue, which forced him to add, "We will know more in a few days. The Forest Whisperers are still new to this territory, so they're slowly combing through the Untamed Jungle rather than rushing and making mistakes."
When Blaire heard 'mistakes', she felt that Tiara's gaze flicked to her. Blaire tried to ignore her stare but that was easier said than done. She knew very well that she made a mistake in the past, a grave mistake at that, but she tried her best to become better. She imparted many Starless Summons with the knowledge of becoming a skilled Tracker to create a vast intelligence system that spread across the Untamed Jungle's outer ring.
That way, they procured various pieces of information about the changes occurring at the border of the Zentika Empire and the changes in the Untamed Jungle's outer ring. The latter may not seem like anything special, but the opposite was the case. Apparently, dozens of monster groups had returned to the outer ring after it had been utterly destroyed by the Chaos Pills, and they had already begun to work on restoring their numbers.
Her intelligence system helped collect information that would certainly be helpful in the future.
Michael took note of everything the others had to say. Most of their comments were of similar nature to the issues he found by strolling through his territory for a few hours. Interestingly enough, most of these issues already had a pretty good answer. Tiara, the Forest Elves, and even Blaire pointed out a few things while also proposing ways to solve them without too many issues.
Their proposals were meticulous and it was obvious that they had given the issues a lot of thought before coming up with their ideas.
That was also why Michael merely had to add a few more points before their proposals could turn into proper plans. His pointers came mostly from the knowledge he had procured from Alice's individual teaching and the Laxarta Library. Combining the masterpieces and works of the Draconia Era with the tips and tricks used by modern Lords such as Alice, Michael could widen his subordinates' horizon.
Michael's pointers sounded grotesque and weird when the Forest Elves heard them the first time, but Tiara was overjoyed and excited. Blaire and the other subjects present at the meeting were also positively surprised. They began to see Michael in a different light. He was not only a powerful Lord, who was kind and forthcoming, but he was also meticulous and sly.
The Forest Elves realized that as well after they took notes of the finalized plans that came into existence once Michael tweaked their proposals. The changes didn't seem like a lot, but they increased the overall efficiency of the plans to a significant degree.
It was already late afternoon when they finished their meeting. Sun Demos returned to his small lair where the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys were waiting, while Michael and the others split up.
Tiara stayed with Michael. They sparred a little for Michael to see how much his physique had improved after two Sacred Rectification sessions. He then practiced Sacred Rectification a third time, washed up, and went to eat a late lunch with Tiara.
Talking with Tiara in detail had become a routine after she was finally granted permission to talk more about her family, the Silverfang Tigerfolk, and her past. Michael was still not sure why the Will would suddenly remove some of Tiara's restrictions, but it was a good thing.
Tiara felt much better being able to talk about her family and the Silverfangs, and Michael found comfort in listening to her and sharing his own doubts and worries.
By the time he finished his workout it was already early evening. However, Michael was not yet tired enough to go to sleep. Hence, he and Tiara walked to the outskirts of the territory to start working on the surrounding area. Precisely, Michael used Extraction to remove huge trees that obstructed the growth of several other trees, and bushes, whose roots had spread way too far, restricting the growth of other saplings that had yet to be planted.
With 6-Star Extraction and the means to extract the origin energy out of the surroundings, Michael could work for a few hours before his mind would grow tired. His head began to ache, giving him a clear warning that things were going to get worse if he continued.
Thus Michael looked at the countless trees that had been properly extracted and separated into even parts and decided that he had done enough for tonight. His subordinates had more than enough materials to build a few hundred treehouse complexes with his work of a few hours. That would keep his subordinates busy for a while.
"I am not sure if I should say that, but I was a little bit worried about you in the past, Master," Tiara said as they returned to the Wooden Manor.
Her voice was soft and quiet, barely audible to Michael who was walking next to her. Michael turned to Tiara, who didn't even dare to lift her gaze.
"You know…you can do whatever you want. You are our Lord, and we will obey you no matter what you command us…even if that means you want to wreak havoc and turn the entire Untamed Jungle upside down…or the Sacred Desert…" Tiara said hesitatingly. She kept staring at the ground before adding, "Of course, we would also accept a calm and composed life. It's fine if you don't desire power. Not everyone is thirsty for power."
Michael felt a little bit weird listening to Tiara right now.
What did he desire? Was it power?
Of course, Michael liked the feeling of growing stronger. He loved being able to overpower those who thought lightly of him and to use his power to protect his territory. It was also great to grow stronger alongside Kaleb and the rest.
Did that mean he desired power? Probably.
However, the reason was not because of power itself, but because of the things he could do by being powerful.
"Actually, I think I already know what I want to do…" Michael mumbled mostly to himself rather than Tiara, who lifted her head to look at him.
There was a lot Michael wanted to do and achieve.
One of the dreams he and Danny had was to find out more about the Fenrir family. They wanted to find out who their ancestor had been to enrage so many Divine Lifeforms, and how their entire bloodline ended up getting cursed.
To achieve that they would have to find out more about the Will of the Origin Expanse, and how it worked. Michael and Daniel didn't even know what or who the Will actually was. Everyone only knew that it was omnipotent and that it ruled over the Origin Expanse – or so most said without any hard evidence.
But one thing was quite obvious to Michael. The Will's decisions and actions were weird. Sometimes, Michael felt that the Will wanted to give him a helping hand while doing the exact opposite during other times. The latter happened most of the time, pushing him into hell by throwing obstacles and enemies his way.
It felt like the Will had a personal grudge against the Fenrirs – that it paid most attention to them rather than others. That didn't make any sense.
Other than fulfilling one of his brother's dreams, Michael wanted to raid the Temple of the Forgotten as well. His adventurous spirit had awakened when he found the Temple of the Forgotten, and he wanted to know more about it.
Raiding the Temple of the Forgotten had to be postponed for quite a while, and Michael was not actually sure when he could start the conquest, but he was eagerly working toward this goal.
But there was one thing he wanted even more than anything else.
Michael wanted to know more about his brother's death and avenge him -- even if that meant he had to go against his own kind.
Nobody was allowed to touch his beloved and escaped unscathed!
