Chapter 340 (1/2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Void Mask Church was very efficient. Only half an hour later, Miramon, received the oracle and found Crick to discuss with him about the cultivation of herbs.

Listening to him, Crick was astounded at first. Then after careful consideration, he became overjoyed. This could strengthen the relationship between the Keane family and the Void Mask Church, and that would offer the Keane Hill more support. The cultivation of herbs alone had great benefits.

The Keane Hill’s harvest was so remarkable that it could maintain peace for a year or two, but trouble had to come eventually. It was like a child holding a large piece of gold and walking alone in a strange street; it was similar to hanging a banner on his body with the word “wanted.”

So even if it was not to grow herbs, Crick had been considering adjusting the Hill’s agricultural planting plans by cutting grain to free up more land to plant something else.

He had considered planting fruit trees since its harvest was just average, and that would not be too noticeable. Moreover, planting fruit trees needed much less manpower, and that could save a lot of human resources for other work.

But it also had its shortcomings. It took several years from cultivation to harvest, and it was not advisable to use magic to shorten this period of time, for it would reduce the quality of the fruit. If the vast amount of farmland in the hill was converted into fruitful forests, the agricultural income would be very low in the next few years.

As for vegetables, the transportation in this world was quite tragic. Vegetables, which were inconvenient to transport and low in price, could only be sold in their original place and could not bring business exchanges at all. Maybe they could try to increase the output appropriately and improve the living standard of the residents here, but it couldn’t take the lead in developing.

In fact, it had the same problem as planting fruit, but fruit trees could produce nuts which were very convenient to ship. Even those fragile ones could be used to make fruit wine, and that was also a good way to earn money.

When it came to making wine, grain could also be used in this way. But although it could solve the problem of an overbearing grain harvest, it was still noticeable in others’ eyes, so it wouldn’t work.

This was what Crick had planned, but now it looked like he had a better choice.

There were some advantages to planting herbs. First, it had less harvest. Even if the price of herbs was high, at least it would not be as noticeable as mountains of grain; second, it would be beneficial to the people and society. As long as it developed to a certain scale, it would attract a lot of kind and honest people to help him in the name of protecting the herbal field. Finally, it could help improve Keane Hill’s position in the circle of Void Mask Church, and that would make it easier to get help at critical moments.

Generally speaking, it had all the benefits without any harm. It was perfect!

Of course, if one was to consider it very seriously, there were still some disadvantages. For example, planting herbs here would be equal to tying Keane Hill to the camp of the Void Mask Church. If the enemy of the Void Mask Church wanted to make trouble in the future, the enemies might find no way to attack Geerteng Hill, which was protected by the electorate of the God of Knowledge, or Garth City, which was under protection of the Legendary Master, the King of Seaside, Prince Leon Igor. However, they definitely had a way to attack Keane Hill. That was to say, if someone wanted to attack the Void Mask Church in the future, Keane Hill would probably be the first to bear the brunt.

But it didn’t really matter. Anyway, Keane Hill’s situation was nothing better than that now. They had been noticed by His Majesty right now. They didn’t know whether they could successfully overcome it. They might be in great danger in the future if they tied themselves to the camp of the Void Mask Church, but it at least this would help them to avoid the current crisis. That was enough. When the situation was as urgent as the fire burning on one’s eyebrow, it would be better to solve the urgent crisis first.

So Crick agreed to Miramon’s proposal and immediately began to plan for the herbal field.

First, the herbal field should have convenient transportation to make the picking and storage of medicinal herbs easy. Secondly, the herbal field should be clean and tidy, and its interior should be divided into small pieces for better planting and maintenance.

Also, it would be better to build it in an eye-catching place so as to distract attention from other hills and from Baron Keane’s unusual harvest. As for other factors, they were many in number and types, so he listed them one by one.

Given these considerations, he studied them according to the map of Keane Hill. It was impossible to be near mountains and rivers because it might cause natural and man-made disasters such as beasts, demons, floods and so on. Being too close to the road was not feasible either, for the flying dust might affect the quality of medicinal herbs. It was not suitable to build it in areas that were not flat and open enough because it was not convenient for the farmers to work.

After careful consideration, he finally plotted out several areas on the map and selected them as tentative targets.

The next day, a high-ranking mage was sent from the Void Mask Church. This mage, named Felix, had a good record in the First World Martial Art Competition. She was known as the Speeding Shooter, and she was good at using a wand to launch various kinds of ray magic. It was said that she was a mage who was highly inclined towards combat.

Crick naturally looked at her attributes and was startled by what he had seen: [Special Blood, Intelligence 20, Charm 18, Perception 16, Agility 16, Physique 14.]

Apart from being a little less powerful, this female mage was almost a superwoman!